Catering
No limits... Just possibilities
Healthy Eating at St. Joseph’s
St. Joseph’s is proud to have received the Surrey Council’s Healthy Schools Award.
We follow the Government’s Food-Based Standards for School Lunches and All Other Foods, in conjunction with the School Food Trust. In short this means that we are providing a healthy balanced diet for our students, whilst also offering alternatives for students that have yet to develop their range of foods.
We have students with a varying range of dietary requirements; Religious, Allergies, Vegetarians, special digestive and physical needs, as well as the usual dietary preferences. We encourage all our students to try new foods making sure that they feel ‘safe’ to do so and ensuring that if they do not like something they can leave it and are of course praised for trying something new. Our Head Chef & Catering Manager, Vikki Brazier, is more than happy to liaise with home to overcome any difficulties with individual student’s needs or just to update home with their child’s individual progress.
We have wonderful grounds where our students are able to be involved with growing some of our own fruits and vegetables which are brought to our kitchens for use.
What is a typical days’ healthy food at St. Joseph’s?
Lunch Time
There are four sittings in the dining room so as to reduce crowding and noise. We offer meat, fish and vegetarian options each day as well as potato and fresh vegetables, also a gluten free version. We offer alternatives for individual needs, for which we keep records that can be referred to should the need arise. A hot pudding is served on alternate days and fresh fruit salad and yoghurt daily. We use local suppliers for our meat and produce and any vegetables that come from our garden. Menus are sent home weekly. We use MSC fish which is sustainable meaning it is not over fished.
Residential Houses
The residential students are in ‘family groups’ where young people are encouraged to help to prepare healthy balanced meals where individual needs are met.
Young people are able to go with care staff to do the food shopping in a variety of shops. This helps to teach the young people how to shop for food, choose healthy options and handle money as well as to help out by doing ‘household chores’. Houses also complete on line shopping to ensure they can experience different ways of shopping.
Young people can also access the allotments so they can pick their own fruit and vegetables and prepare the freshest of ingredients they have grown.