School's award for most improved packed lunches

Children at Khalsa Primary School received an award presented by the Mayor of Slough for the most improved packed lunches.

The event took place today at the Sikh school in Wexham Road, Wexham.

The improvement is a result of Mission Healthy Eating – a healthy eating project run by NHS dieticians teaching children about food groups and a balanced diet.

Pip Collings, public health dietician for Slough, said: “We run a yearly food survey with Slough Borough Council across all schools in Slough as a way of monitoring nutritional levels in both school meals and packed lunches, and the 2010 survey showed that less than a fifth of pupils at Khalsa Primary School had a balanced packed lunch.

“There was a lack of protein in the pupils’ diets. Khalsa is a vegetarian school and it can be very challenging to consume enough protein in a vegetarian diet.”

Slough Mayor Sukhjit Dhaliwal is also a Sikh.

She said: “Asian people have a problem with healthy eating and it is a challenge to change their ways.”