School Meals

A message from HC3S, Your Award-Winning School Caterer

With over 30 years of successful school catering experience, our ethos is to provide healthy, local, responsible sourced food that children love. Our tasty, freshly cooked, nutritious dishes help your children flourish and reach their potential. As part of a balanced diet, our lunches provide a third of a child’s daily calorie intake, to aid concentration levels and give them energy to focus and to play.

We know that providing award-winning meals isn’t enough and so at HC3S we go that step further, by helping schools and the wider community to encourage children, parents and carers to live healthy lifestyles and think sustainably.

That’s why our ‘Ready Steady Cook’ and Cook, Eat, Educate programmes are fun, engaging and available in your area. We also offer healthy eating sessions at school in collaboration with Public Health England. Our added value ‘Food to Flourish Classroom’ resources help teachers educate your children in an innovative, food related fashion that cuts across the curriculum.

Where opportunity arises, and in a Covid-safe environment, we bring live cooking and food related workshops to the classrooms. Sometimes, through partnerships with our suppliers and other local food organisations, this maybe outside of the classroom, creating sensory-filled memorable experiences.

Celebrate with us throughout the academic year as we support, VegPower’s Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign encouraging children to eat more vegetables, Nutrition and Hydration Week and National School Meals Week; key events in the food and drink calendar which are lots of fun.

Want to know more about HC3S?

Click on this web link www.hants.gov.uk/hc3s

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Does your child need a medical special diet to eat lunch at school? If so, you need to create an account to register your child for a medical special diet, via this link https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/hc3s/education-catering/specialdiets

Once you have created your account, we will be able to review your medical evidence with our NHS dietician in order to devise an adapted menu for your child's school lunch.

Living with allergies comes with its own set of rules so when it comes to food, as education caterers, we want to make this as easy as possible for you as a family. Our staff are trained in food safety and regularly update their skills on allergens. We never underestimate the dangers of food allergies and intolerances and that's why we work hard to get it right. More details can be found Special diets | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk)

We know times are tough, so here’s a reminder that school lunches are FREE to all children in KS1 (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) under the Government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme. Otherwise, they are currently £2.60 each day. Children eat a two-course lunch and can have freshly baked bread and salad too.

If families receive certain benefits, they can apply for 'Free School Meals' and if their child is entitled to them, this gives additional benefits to your child. If you think you are eligible, please visit https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/freeschoolmeals/juniorsecondary

for how to apply. If you’re successful, we receive pupil premium of £1,320 from the government for each child registered as eligible for free school meals. Pupil premium supports the learning and wellbeing of children and is used to buy resources, subsidise school trips, provide training for staff and fund support.

Your child is welcome to bring a packed lunch if that is the preference. Please find below tips for a healthy lunch box.