British Nutrition Foundation’s

Healthy Eating Week 2024

Give it a go!

Secondary guide

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Welcome to the British Nutrition Foundation’s
Healthy Eating Week 2024
This year’s 12th Healthy Eating Week will take place from 10-14 June 2024. This guide will provide
you with the information and resources you will need to take part in the Week.

We are encouraging everyone to ‘Give it a go’ this Healthy Eating Week! Whether that means
having one extra portion of fruit or vegetables a day, being a bit more active, experimenting with a
new recipe or using up leftovers - Healthy Eating Week 2024 is all about giving it a go!

• Get at least 5 A DAY

Fresh, frozen, dried and canned all count.

• Stay hydrated
Have about 6-8 drinks a day. Tap water is a great choice.

• Move more
Find more ways to be active every day.

• Focus on fibre
Have more wholegrain foods, fruit and vegetables, beans and lentils.

• Reduce food waste

Aim for the right amount when you shop, cook and eat.

Read on for background information about the Week’s five themes, and activities and
resources for use in school.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

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 Whole school
Use these ideas to get your whole school involved in Healthy Eating Week.

• Display the Healthy Eating Week posters in a communal area such as the hall or dining
area.

• Share the themes (on page 2) with your school kitchen or meal provider. Ask them to
highlight, or prepare, dishes that support the Healthy Eating Week themes.

• Complete and display the What’s happening this week? poster to show everyone what
you have got planned for the Week. You could make this available on your school website
or social media channels.

• Award pupils (and staff!) with the Healthy Eating Week certificate for their participation
and achievements during Healthy Eating Week.

• Organise a whole school Healthy Eating Week picnic or lunch.

• Ask a member of staff to organise some Healthy Eating Week activities for school staff
using the Workplace resources.

• Share the link to the Healthy Eating Week recipes with colleagues and parents/carers –
these can be made at school or home.

You can find all the school resources, here:

[Link]

Short on time?

We have developed one, easy to use, key activity for each day’s themes.
Look out for the first activity listed under the Activities and resources for each theme in this guide.

Why not share what your school is doing for Healthy Eating Week @NutritionOrgUK
#HEW24 or email us at postbox@[Link]?

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Get at least 5 A DAY
Fresh, frozen, dried and canned all count.

Have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.

In the UK, healthy eating guidelines recommend that fruit and vegetables should make up over a
third of what we eat.

Did you know that teenagers aged 11-18 years have less than 3 portions of their 5 A DAY?*

Fruit and vegetables provide a range of essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre as well as a variety
of compounds produced by plants which give fruit and vegetables their colour and may benefit
health. Diets high in fruit and vegetables are also associated with a lower risk of diseases such as
heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Fruit and vegetables can also help teenagers to maintain
a healthy weight because they are generally low in calories - they can eat plenty for relatively few
calories!

Different coloured fruit and vegetables contain their own combination of nutrients. Eating a variety
of different coloured fruit and vegetables as part of meals and snacks can provide teenagers with a
range of important nutrients. Remember it is at least 5 A DAY – more is better!

• A portion of fruit or vegetable is 80g – a medium-sized banana or apple, two or more plums
or satsumas, or three heaped tablespoons of cooked vegetables.
• A portion of dried fruit is 30g – a heaped tablespoon of raisins, two figs or three prunes.
• 150ml glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice or smoothie counts as a maximum
of one of 5 A DAY.
• Three heaped tablespoons of pulses count as a maximum of one of the recommended 5 A
DAY.

*NDNS – Results from years 9 to 11 (combined)

Add more fruit and vegetables throughout your day:

• Fruit and vegetables can be included at breakfast, e.g. fruit on porridge, or tomatoes and
spinach with eggs on wholemeal toast.
• Snack on different fruit and vegetables during the day - have a fruit or vegetable snack at
breaktime.
• Be adventurous and try new vegetables, or even fruit, in savoury dishes!
• Try a tasty salad for lunch – add brightly coloured vegetables such as red pepper or red
cabbage and apple slaw.

Fresh, frozen, dried and canned all count:

• Frozen fruit and vegetables are nutritious and provide a convenient way to increase intake.
Frozen spinach can be added to a curry, or frozen berries can be thawed and stirred into
low-fat natural yogurt. Frozen fruit and veg can help reduce food waste.
• Choose canned fruit and vegetables in natural juice or water with no added sugar or salt.
• Keep dried fruit to mealtimes only to reduce the impact on teeth.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Consider the pennies:
• Use odd bits of vegetables to make a vegetable soup or add to stews, curries, or quiches.
• Use frozen or canned fruit and vegetables as these can be better value than fresh, enable
portion control and help to reduce food waste.
• Buy loose fruit and vegetables where you can. This way you will only buy what you need, saving
money, and help to prevent food waste.
• Store fruit and vegetables in the fridge below 5°C to extend their shelf life.
• Many supermarkets now sell value boxes with a selection of fruit and vegetables that are
surplus, in season or ‘wonky’.

Activities and resources

Key activity

Find the fruit and vegetables

Help young people become more familiar with the wide variety of fruit and vegetables
available by using the Find the fruit and vegetables resource. Make a colour copy of sheet
showing the fruit and vegetables and use the questions (secondary) provided to support
discussion about the different fruit and vegetables. (The names of the fruit and vegetables can
be found on page 6 of this guide.)

Find the fruit and vegetable resources here.

You could also:

• task pupils to name all the fruit and vegetables
• display this resource for the pupils to use independently. They can make up their own questions
to ask each other
• organise a tasting session to allow the pupils to try some of the fruit and vegetables from the
resource that they haven’t tasted before
• sort the fruit and vegetables in different ways, e.g. by colour, shape, tried before, not tried
before, available as canned or frozen varieties, grown in/outside the UK, cost per portion!

If you have a great idea for how to use this resource, why not share it with us?
@NutritionOrgUK #HEW24 or email us at postbox@[Link]?

A) Using the Create a super salad sheet for ideas, prepare a selection of salad ingredients.
Invite the pupils to choose ingredients to create their own salad, or, why not set up a
practical food activity so the pupils can prepare the salad ingredients themselves?
Remember to check for allergies, intolerances, and dietary requirements before running this
activity.

B) What is a portion? Have a variety of fruit and vegetables to show the pupils. Ask for
volunteers to estimate how much of each food would make up a portion. Use the 5 A DAY
presentation to review portion size.

C) Make a variety of recipes that demonstrate the use of a range of fruit or vegetables and how
they can easily be incorporated in dishes. There are lots of exciting ideas such as Roasted
vegetable and chickpea inspired tagine, North African style za’atar roast cauliflower
couscous salad and Bean and plantain stew – search in the Food – a fact of life recipe
area.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 D) Challenge the pupils to create a 5 A DAY menu that includes a breakfast, lunch, evening
meal, snacks, and drinks. They should explain how at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables
have been included and why the dishes have been chosen.

E) Cook up a tasty soup that uses at least two portions of vegetables. Serve with a starchy
wholegrain carbohydrate such as a wholemeal roll or include wholewheat pasta or brown rice
in the recipe. Tomato, bean, and pasta soup could be a great one to try!

F) Set up a tasting table – encourage pupils to try a fruit or vegetable that they are not familiar
with. Remember to check for allergies, intolerances, and dietary requirements before this
activity.

G) Make a Vegetable chilli and then complete a nutritional analysis of the dish and compare it
with a Chilli con carne. A recipe for Chilli con carne can be found here. To make a Vegetable
chilli, replace the beef mince with a 400g can of black beans and use a vegetable stock
cube. Use Explore Food to complete the nutritional analysis. A guide for teachers and
supporting activity sheets can be found here.
Tutor group
• Task pupils to produce a storyboard or an advert to encourage other teenagers to eat their 5 A
DAY.
• Challenge pupils to find a fruit and/or vegetable for each letter of the alphabet and create a fruit
and vegetable A-Z!

Find the fruit and vegetables

1st row: 3rd row: 5th row:

• Red apple • Green grapes • Fig
• Lemon – high in vitamin C • Pomegranate • Gherkin
• Raspberry • Carrot – source of vitamin A • Mango- high in vitamin C
• Black grapes • Blackberry • Red grapes
• Orange - high in vitamin C • Melon – source of vitamin A, if a • Apricot (or peach)
• Plum cantaloupe melon • Kiwi fruit - high in vitamin C
• Sweetcorn - high in vitamin • Cabbage - high in vitamin C • Garlic
C, if canned • Pumpkin – source of vitamin A • Asparagus
• Aubergine • Cherry tomatoes • Broccoli - high in vitamin C
• Marrow (or courgette) • Beetroot • Onion
2nd row: • Spring onion - high in vitamin C,
• Mushroom bulb only
• Pineapple - high in vitamin C • Cucumber
• Strawberry - high in vitamin C 4th row:
• Green apple • Avocado
• Bananas • Lime - high in vitamin C
• Red pepper- high in vitamin C • Watermelon
• Peas • Pear
• Lettuce • Cherries
• Red chili • Satsuma - high in vitamin C
• Radish • Green pepper - high in vitamin C
• Turnip
• Tomato
• Orange pepper- high in vitamin C

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Stay hydrated
Have about 6-8 drinks a day. Tap water is a great choice.

Our bodies lose water throughout the day in urine and sweat, as well as breathing. If we do not
drink enough fluids, we can become dehydrated over time. To stay hydrated we need fluid from
foods and drinks.

We should have about 6-8 glasses or cups of fluid each day, and more if the weather is hot, we are
exercising or being active.

Water is a great choice as a main drink because it keeps you hydrated without adding calories to
the diet, or sugars that can potentially damage teeth.

Other healthier choices include unsweetened tea, coffee or herbal infusions, and lower fat milk.
Unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juices and smoothies can provide vitamins and minerals but
should be kept to a maximum of one small glass (150ml) per day.

Sugary soft drinks and energy drinks should be limited - swap these for water or soft drinks without
added sugars. Sports drinks can be useful when exercising at high intensity for over an hour, but
they are high in sugars, and sometimes caffeine, so should only be consumed if needed.

Using reusable or recyclable drinks containers will help reduce waste and keeping them handy is a
good way to remember to drink more throughout the day.

You can find more information on the Healthy hydration for adults and teenagers poster.

Make tap water your main drink (other sugar-free drinks count too!):
• Keep a bottle of tap water handy during the day.
• Infuse tap water with different fruit and vegetables for extra flavour – try strawberries,
cucumber, and mint.
• Have a glass of lower fat milk after exercising for protein and hydration, instead of sugary
soft drinks or energy drinks.

Choose reusable bottles and cups, or drinks in recyclable containers (and recycle them
correctly):
• Keep a reusable bottle with you so you can re-fill and hydrate regularly.
• Use a reusable flask for tea and coffee on the go.

• Consider the pennies:

• Freeze leftover fresh herbs in an ice cube tray and use to flavour your water.
• Make fresh fruit lollies with fruit that has begun to go soft. Mash with a fork and dilute
with a little water or semi-skimmed milk and freeze in reusable lolly moulds. Strawberries,
raspberries and even bananas are great for making fun and refreshing lollies. Why not try
traffic light lollies with different coloured fruit?

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Activities and resources
Key activity

Hydration station
Set up a hydration station using the Hydration station set up guide and Hydration station sign.
Encourage pupils to help themselves to drinks.

Find the hydration resources here.

A) Consult with your school meals provider and focus on the provision of and easy access to
water in the school dining room. Set up an information area about the benefits of staying well
hydrated.

B) Set up a Hydration station to encourage pupils to stay hydrated during the school day. Take
a look at our Hydration station set up guide for support and label your station with our
Hydration station sign. A variety of infused water could be offered for tasting.

C) Did you know there are apps which show where you can refill your water bottle when you are
out and about? Why not find one of these and share it with your pupils?

D) Test the pupils' knowledge of hydration with the Hydration quiz and follow up with the
Hydration presentation.

E) Task pupils to compare the contents and nutritional value of a selection of energy drinks.
Discuss the outcomes and when/if these might be needed. There is a Sports nutrition
presentation to support.

F) Challenge the pupils to make a Fruit smoothie using seasonal produce. Remember to
explain to pupils that smoothies and fruit juice count towards their 5 A DAY but they should
only drink a combined maximum of 150ml a day. Smoothies are a great way to use up fruit
and veg that has begun to go soft, helping to reduce food waste.

G) Task pupils to create an ‘infographic’ that could be used on the school website/social media
platforms that outlines practical tips to keep children and young people hydrated.

Tutor group
• Complete the Drink survey with your form.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Move more
Find more ways to be active every day.

Children and young people (aged 5 -18 years):

• should engage in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity for an average of at least

60 minutes per day across the week* (For children or young people with disabilities, the
guidance is 20 minutes of physical activity per day.**) This can include all forms of activity
such as physical education, active travel, after-school activities, play and sports.
• should engage in a variety of types and intensities of physical activity across the week to
develop movement skills, muscular fitness, and bone strength.
• should aim to minimise the amount of time spent being inactive (sedentary), and when
physically possible should break up long periods of not moving with at least light physical
activity.

*UK Chief Medical Officers' Physical Activity Guidelines

**UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Disabled Children and Disabled Young People 2022

A young person who is physically active and plays sport on a regular basis will have better…

Physical health Mental health Social wellbeing Brain function

• Cardiovascular • Happiness • Less lonely Evidence shows being

fitness • Resilience • More trusting physically active impacts on
• Healthy weight • Equipped to • Improved progress and achievement.
• Strength tackle anxiety communication
• Co-ordination and stress and teamwork It improves the brain by
• Energy levels • Improved mood skills stimulating growth of the part
through release responsible for learning and
of ‘feel good’ memory.
endorphins
Young people’s ability to
concentrate also improves after
physical activity.

Youth Sport Trust

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Moderate and vigorous activity

Moderate intensity physical activity will increase body temperature, increase the rate of breathing
and make the heart beat faster. When exercising at a moderate level, it should be possible to talk
but hard to sing a song.

Vigorous intensity physical activity will increase body temperature, make breathing even faster and
heavier and make the heart beat rapidly. When working at this level, it’s hard to say more than a
few words without pausing for breath.

Moving more

As well as being physically active, it is also important that children and young people reduce the
amount of time spent being inactive, e.g. watching TV, playing computer games, travelling by car
(when active travel is an option). This is because, overtime, inactive behaviour can lead to weight
gain and obesity, which can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood such as
heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

Here are some examples of how young people can move more, and what counts as moderate and
vigorous activity.

Moving more Moderate Vigorous

In school: In school: In school:
• Active lessons (lessons that • Active travel (e.g. • Playing chase
involve opportunities for walking or • Playing football or
moving around) wheeling to similar games
• Breaking up long period of school) Outside school:
sitting with a short ‘stretch and Outside school: • Swimming
move’ activity • Cleaning • Martial arts
• Helping out, e.g. setting up • Walking the dog • Scooting
classroom activities, tidying up
Outside school:
• Swapping screen time for
active tasks or hobbies
• Getting outside at weekends

Make it manageable:
• The daily activity recommendation doesn’t have to be achieved in one go. It can be spread
across the day in manageable chunks, for example, 10 minutes at a time.
• The easiest way to move more is to make activity part of everyday life. Encourage children
and young people to look for everyday opportunities to move a bit more and share their
ideas.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Activities and resources
Key activity

Move more activity cards

Use the Move more activity cards to get pupils thinking about different ways to get active (the cards
include ideas for their use). Challenge them to make up their own games using the activity cards!

Find the Move more activity cards here.

Take a look at the Youth Sport Trust 60 second physical activity challenges – there are 26 to try!

60 SECOND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGES

A fun ‘compete against yourself’ approach to physical activity with a
focus on resilience and perseverance and the aim to achieve bronze,
silver, or gold medal targets.

National School Sports Week

The Youth Sport Trust National School Sports Week is running from
Monday 17 to Sunday 23 June 2024. Register your school to receive
free equipment, resources, lesson plans, classroom activities co-
designed by young people for young people. A great way to follow on
from Healthy Eating Week!
REGISTER NOW!

For information about being active, and making activity more accessible, take a look at these links:
• NHS – Why sitting too much is bad for us
• Youth Sport Trust, SEND resources - A set of top tips and helpful resources to support you
in including children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
(SEND).

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Focus on fibre
Have more wholegrain foods, fruit and vegetables,
beans, peas and lentils.

Most of us are not eating enough fibre. In the UK, teenagers aged 11-16 years are recommended to
have 25g of fibre each day. However, they are currently only eating, on average, 16g a day. UK adults
are recommended to have 30g of fibre each day but are currently only eating, on average, 19g a day.
Source: NDNS results from years 9 to 11 (2016 – 2019)

Eating plenty of fibre as part of a healthy, balanced diet is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke,
type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer. Choosing fibre-rich foods may also help us to feel fuller for longer,
which can help support weight management. Eating fibre-rich foods alongside drinking plenty of fluids
and keeping physically active can help prevent constipation.

Fibre may also help to increase ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, and it is thought that our gut bacteria may
play an important role in aspects of health such as immune function, obesity and even brain function
and mood!

Fibre intake can be increased by including fibre-rich plant foods in the Wholegrain, wholewheat
diet, such as: or wholemeal – what’s
• Wholegrain varieties of starchy foods like wholegrain the difference?
breakfast cereals, wholewheat pasta, wholemeal bread, and All these terms refer to
brown rice products made using the
• Pulses like kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils ‘whole’ of the grain - the
• Nuts and seeds bran, germ, and
endosperm!
• Potatoes with skins on
• Fruit and vegetables

Healthy eating guidelines in the UK, known as the Eatwell Guide, focus on eating a plant-rich diet
including plenty of foods with fibre. If everyone in the UK followed the Eatwell Guide, this could reduce
the environmental impact of our diets by about a third, including less land and water use, and lower
greenhouse gas emissions.

Choose higher fibre foods at mealtimes and for snacks:

• Go for potatoes, sweet potatoes, or yams with the skins on.
• Add fruit to your wholegrain breakfast cereal or porridge.
• Snack on fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes, unsalted nuts, or seeds.
• Add plenty of vegetables to meals, as a side dish or salad.
• Add pulses like beans, chickpeas or lentils to stews, curries, and pasta sauces.

Try new wholegrain foods:

• Check food packaging for the terms ‘source of fibre’ or ‘high in fibre.’ A ‘source of’ fibre has
at least 3g of fibre per 100g, and ‘high in’ fibre has more than 6g per 100g.
• Check food packaging for the words wholegrain, wholewheat or wholemeal on food products
like wholewheat noodles and wholemeal bread.
• Go for wholemeal or higher fibre seeded breads. If you only like white bread, why not try
versions that combine white and wholemeal flour?
• Go for high-fibre lower sugar breakfast cereals like wholewheat biscuit cereal (e.g. wheat
biscuits), no added sugar muesli, bran flakes or porridge.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Activities and resources
Key activity

Fibre cards
You can use the Fibre cards for various activities to help children become more familiar with
different foods that provide fibre.

Here are some of the ways the cards could be used.

• Ask the pupils to line up from highest to lowest in fibre. Compare the difference between similar
food, such as white and brown rice, and discuss why there is a difference. Compare and
contrast the different amounts of fibre in different fruit and vegetables.
• Sort the Fibre cards into the Eatwell Guide food groups and discuss what they notice.
• Place the cards in a bag and let the pupils select two or three cards at random. Challenge them
to plan a meal, or find a recipe, that includes one or more of the foods.
• Play ‘higher’ or ‘lower’. Place the cards in a pile face down. Take the first card, read the fibre
content and attach the card to the board or a wall. Take a second card and cover the fibre
content. Show pupils the card and ask if they think it is higher or lower in fibre than the first
card. Reveal the answer and stick the card next to the first one. Repeat the process with the
next card. You could award points for correct answers and set up a scoring system.

The cards can be used ‘whole’ or cut into two or three parts (as shown by the dashes). Pupils
can then be challenged to reassemble the parts.

Find the Fibre cards here.

A) Task pupils to record and calculate the amount of fibre they had yesterday using the Track
my fibre sheet and Explore Food (free nutritional analysis tool).

B) Display the Fabulous fibre swaps poster. Using the Explore Food nutritional analysis tool,
get the pupils to increase the fibre in a selection of dishes. You could choose dishes from the
Food – a fact of life recipe area.

C) Challenge pupils to make changes to a recipe to increase the amount of fibre provided. Use
the Fibre challenge worksheet for ideas.

D) Get the school kitchen/meals provider on board! Ask them to provide a higher fibre dish and
promote it as the ‘Fibre dish of the day.’

E) Use the Find your fibre fortune instructions, worksheet and store cupboard items to
challenge the pupils to create a fibre-filled meal based on three randomly selected
ingredients. Pupils should then complete the questions on the worksheet.

F) Make some exciting new dishes from different global cuisines that use a variety of higher
fibre food such as chickpeas, lentils, or beans. Why not try one of the global cuisine
recipes on Food - a fact of life?

G) Plan and set up a tasting activity to promote healthier, higher fibre tasty snacks. Ideas might
include hummus with vegetable sticks, homemade oatcakes with a vegetable dip, fruit
kebabs, baked skin-on potato wedges, or roasted chickpeas. Sensory science and tasting
activity resources can be found here. Remember to check for allergies, intolerances, and
dietary requirements before this activity.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Tutor group
• Use the Fibre race board game as a fun way to share messages around eating more fibre.
• Fill in the missing words on the Quick facts on fibre worksheet.
• Task pupils to create a poster about fibre, outlining why it is important, how much we should
have, and how we can have more in our diet. You can share the Fun way to fibre poster for
inspiration!
• Share the Track my fibre worksheet with pupils – can they achieve the recommended 25g
of fibre a day?
• Remember to get your school staff involved in Healthy Eating Week! Look at the Workplace
resources for ideas!

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Reduce food waste
Aim for the right amount when you shop, cook, and eat.

In the UK, households are responsible for 60% of UK food waste. According to Waste and Resources
Action Programme (WRAP)*, the most commonly wasted foods are fresh potatoes, meals (home-
made and pre-prepared), bread, and milk.

So much goes into producing our food - water, energy, land, and transport. Reducing the amount
of food we waste is therefore important to make diets more sustainable, helping you save money
but also helping to save wasting the planet’s resources.

Making small changes can help reduce food waste, such as:
• Checking the food storage information on food labels when unpacking the food shop
• Checking the fridge temperature at home is set to 0-5°C and freezer to -18°C
• Storing food in airtight containers to keep it fresh

Know your portions and use these when you choose, cook, and serve food and drinks (to
stop buying or cooking too much):
• Use the Get Portion Wise! guide to help get food portions right.
• Measure out the portion sizes using weighing scales, spoons, and hands.

Plan ahead – plan your meals for the week, write a shopping list, batch cook for later, use
up leftovers:
• If you buy more food than is needed, freeze for another time. Did you know that butter,
cheese, milk, coconut milk, chilli and herbs can all be frozen?
• Choose foods with the latest ‘use by’ date to maximise the time you have to use it.
• Write a shopping list of ingredients to get the right amount of food for meals and snacks
during the week.
• Plan to eat leftovers, or use them as part of other dishes, the next day.

Source of information:
*WRAP: Food Surplus and Waste in the UK Key Facts - updated November 2023 | WRAP

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Activities and resources
Key activity

Food waste survey

Give pupils copies of the Food waste survey to complete at home. Ask the pupils to report
back about what they find and actions their family can take in the future.

Find the Food waste survey here.

A) Ask pupils if they have a food waste recycling bin at home. If they have, this week is a good
time to remind them what can and cannot be put in the food recycling. Find out more here.

B) Discuss food waste with pupils. What do they consider to be the most common foods that are
wasted in the UK? Show the Food waste presentation and complete the worksheet.

C) Listen to the Food waste webinar or the Waste less, package smart webinar discussing
the importance of reducing food waste. Challenge pupils to come up with ideas that could be
implemented in school or at home.

D) Knowing about food and date labels are an important way that can help prevent food waste.
Use the Food labels presentation to introduce ‘Use by’ and ‘Best before’ dates and how
they can be used effectively. Further information can be found on the Food Standards
Agency website.

E) Challenge pupils to create a dish which uses leftover ingredients. Use the Leftover cards,
List of store cupboard items and Food in season presentation to generate ideas. Make
sure that pupils remember that cooked foods should only be reheated once.

F) Waste not, want not challenge! Have pupils got fruit which has gone a bit soft? Tell them not
to throw it away but make something tasty instead. They could make a Fruit crumble, Fruit
smoothie, Fruity muffins, Fruit scones or Raisin and banana cookies. If they have any
vegetables past their best, they could make Herby veggie crumble, Savoury rice,
Vegetable soup or Roasted vegetables.

G) Encourage pupils to plan their family’s meals with their parents/carers for a week. The Menu
and shopping planner can be used to support. Alternatively, pupils can create their own
planner.

H) Task the pupils to be creative, help prevent food waste and make their own soup! The activity
can be completed individually, in pairs or in groups. Follow the instructions on the Super soup
activity – teacher instructions sheet to set up the activity for your pupils. There is also a recipe
to support the pupils to complete the activity. Why not make Speedy flatbreads, using just
three ingredients, to accompany the soup? For pupils with additional needs, planning what to
eat, buy and cook is important for developing skills for independent living. A range of
resources to support pupils when planning what to eat, shopping, cooking, and eating and
sharing (including portion control) can be found here.

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2024 | [Link]

 Tutor group
• Have a look at the resources on the Zero Waste Scotland website for the Love Food Hate
Waste Secondary Education pack, which includes a useful PowerPoint presentation.
• Write a ‘Tips to Reduce Food Waste’ poster/advert/graphic/short video that could be
displayed in school and posted in the school newsletter or social media.
• Supporting information/resource can be found on Love Food Hate Waste and the WRAP –
Action on Food Waste.

Remember! There is a What’s happening this week? poster that you can compete and
display, to show your school community what’s happening during Healthy Eating Week.

There is also a Healthy Eating Week certificate that can be awarded to pupils and staff who
have participated in Healthy Eating Week activities.

Why not share what your school is doing for Healthy Eating Week? @NutritionOrgUK
#HEW24

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Healthy Eating Week 2024 is developed and run by the British Nutrition Foundation.

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