Healthy Campus Policy (Eating Policy)

Mission

Healthy eating is essential for students' growth, thus the school is active in promoting the importance of healthy eating among students, staff and parents, aiming to foster an environment conducive to healthy eating and to cultivate healthy eating practices among all school members.

Objectives

To promote the importance of healthy eating among staff, students, parents and the public, raising awareness on a healthy lifestyle.
To ensure that the food provided by the school is of decent quality, fostering an environment that is conducive to healthy eating.
To cultivate healthy eating practices among teachers, students and staff.

Administrative Measures

Healthy eating policies are conducted by the Students Affairs Committee, whose team members include teachers, PTA parent representatives, and parents. The Committee is responsible for devising and implementing policies on healthy eating.
The Committee will notify staff, parents and students of the school's policies and measures on healthy eating through notices every year.
The Committee will review the implementation of the policies annually and make necessary amendments.
The Committee is responsible for conducting talks, activities and trainings to promote healthy eating.

Policies on Healthy Eating

Lunch Provision
1	To give priority to the nutritional quality of lunch sets when selecting a lunch supplier. The school makes reference to the Handbook of Selection of Lunch Suppliers in this regard.
2	To stipulate in the contract signed with the lunch supplier that all lunch sets should comply with the requirements of the Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students (2017 version) published by the Department of Health.
3	To review lunch menus monthly before they are introduced to students and parents, ensuring that no “strongly discouraged food items” or desserts are provided in all lunch sets.
4	To provide students and parents with the approved school lunch menu, together with their nutritional information, on a monthly basis so that informed choice could be exercised.
5	To monitor whether all lunch sets are in compliance with the requirements of the Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students (2017 version) in a week with five school days on a monthly basis. Make records by using or making reference to the “School Lunch Nutritional Quality Assessment and Comment Form” provided by the Department of Health. Communicate the monitoring result to the lunch supplier and request for improvement. Such records should be duly kept until the end of the contract.
6	To encourage parents who prepare homemade lunch sets to observe the Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students (2017 version), with emphasis on providing at least one serving of vegetables, no “strongly discouraged food items” (e.g. deep-fried food, salted egg and salted fish) and no desserts in the lunch set.
7	To handle cases of students who failed to bring lunch sets in compliance with the school healthy eating policy in a manner agreed by both school and parents.
8	To open the G/F canteen for students and staff to have lunch, and to separate the lunch time into three slots, ensuring that students have sufficient time for consumption of meals.
9	To nurture the habit of eating fruit. Discuss the arrangement of fruit provision (self-prepared/supplied by lunch supplier) with the lunch supplier and parents so that at least half a serving of fruit could be consumed in school each day.

Snack Arrangement (including food and beverage)
1	To place high priority to the nutritional quality of snacks when selecting snack suppliers. Make reference to the Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Students (2018 version) issued by the Department of Health and forbid the sale of snacks belonging to the group of “Snacks to Choose Less” at school.
2	To ensure all food items sold at tuck shops and vending machines have no snacks belonging to the group of “Snacks to Choose Less” (including drinks) are sold. Such checks should be conducted two times in a school year and records can be made by taking reference to the “School Snacks Nutritional Quality Assessment and Comment Form” provided by the Department of Health. Communicate the monitoring result to the operators and request for improvements. Such records should be duly kept until the end of the contract.
3	To encourage parents to observe the Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Students (2018 version) and advise them not to provide food and drinks belonging to the group of "Snacks to Choose Less", e.g. potato chips, chocolate, butter cookie, etc. that are high in fat, salt or sugar. Advise parents to prepare healthy snacks, e.g. fresh fruits, boiled eggs and plain biscuits. Emphasize that snacks should not spoil the appetite for the next main meal and should be consumed only when hungry.
4	To forbid the promotion of snacks belonging to the group of “Snacks to Choose Less” at school and ban the sponsorship of school activities by manufacturers of such snacks.
5	To request the operators of tuck shops and vending machines to promote snacks that belong to the group of “Snacks to Choose More”. These healthy snacks should be placed in a conspicuous location.
6	To encourage students to have water as their main drink. Ensure all students can access to potable water.
7	To handle cases of students who failed to bring snacks in compliance with the school healthy eating policy in a manner agreed by both school and parents.
8	To avoid rewarding students with food and avoid delivering messages that are contradicting to healthy eating habits.

Reference Materials

Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students & Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Students, Department of Health

http://school.eatsmart.gov.hk

Please refer to the webpage of the "EatSmart@school.hk" Campaign (ESS Campaign) by the Department of Health for the Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students, Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Students, and “'Letter to Parents: Eating Vegetables and Fruits Every Day Improves Children's Health".