New research from one of the UK’s leading wholesalers – Creed Foodservice – reveals how nutrition at school is affecting teenagers’ mood, behaviour and academic focus – with parents noticing the impact as soon as their children return home.
The national survey of UK parents reveals how their child is affected when they haven’t had nutritious, filling food at school:
- 44% say their child fills up on crisps, biscuits or sugary drinks after school
- 42% say their child comes home “hangry” (angry or grumpy due to hunger)
- 35% report low energy
- 22% say their child communicates less
- 21% say homework focus suffers
- 12% report less interest in clubs and after-school activities
Breakfast habits are a concern too with nearly a third (29%) of parents saying their child skips breakfast at least three times during the school week.
With some teens having clear gaps in their nutrition, six in ten (60%) parents are now giving their children supplements to compensate – the most common being multivitamins and minerals (37%), vitamin D (23%) and vitamin C (21%).
In response to these concerns, Creed – which has over 50 years’ experience working within the education sector – launched the UK’s first-ever Brain Food school menu in Autumn 2024, developed with registered dietitian Juliette Kellow and Creed’s team of Development Chefs. Since its launch, schools across the country have trialled and introduced Brain Food dishes, including Oundle School, an independent day and boarding school in Northamptonshire and Churchdown School Academy in Gloucester – with positive feedback from pupils and staff.
Aimed at secondary schools, the menu includes breakfast, lunch and smoothie bar options. Each recipe is packed full of ingredients that have a part to play in brain function, as well as offering nutrients for all aspects of wellbeing for teenagers, such as providing energy for playing sport and supporting cognitive function for music or drama lessons.
Gabrielle Evans, Insights and Innovation Assistant at Creed Foodservice, said: “We’ve long known the connection between food and physical health, but this research underlines how crucial it is to children’s emotional wellbeing and learning too. The majority (64%) of parents worry about their children’s eating habits at school – which isn’t surprising given they are seeing first-hand the impact on homework, extracurricular activities and mood outside of school.
“It’s not just parents who notice the impact – a whopping 94% of people who work in schools agree that pupils who consume nutritious and filling food and drink before and during school learn better.
“We wanted to help caterers understand what parents want to see on school menus, drive uptake of school meals, and offer pupils dishes that will help fuel them both physically and mentally through the day.”
Dishes from Creed’s Brain Food menu include:
Breakfast
- Mexican Omelette Taco with black beans, guacamole & salsa – rich in B vitamins, which are important for psychological wellbeing
- Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats – a source of iodine for cognitive function
Lunch
- Spanish Potatoes with spinach, chicken & chorizo – high in iron and copper
- Salmon & Broccoli Pasta in a light cream cheese sauce – provides DHA, an essential omega-3 fat needed for normal brain function
- Posh Pot Noodle with chicken & vegetables in a miso broth – provides potassium, copper, B vitamins and vitamin C, all needed for the nervous system, of which the brain is the control centre
Rob Owen, Executive Business Development Chef at Creed Foodservice, who co-created the menu, said: “We designed the Brain Food menu to be practical, affordable and appealing. Students increasingly prefer grab-and-go dishes, and want flexibility and flavour – so the food had to work for them and for the catering teams making it.
“It’s about bringing together what pupils want, nutritionally balanced options, and what kitchens can realistically deliver. The Brain Food menu does all three.”
The concept has also been positively received by school staff – with 76% of school workers saying they would support menus offering dishes that help improve brain function. Among parents, this rises to an overwhelming 96% in favour.
To view Creed’s Brain Food menu please visit: https://www.creedfoodservice.co.uk/content/brainfood
*The research was conducted by 3GEM Research and Insights on behalf of Creed Foodservice, July 2024. People who work in schools, sample size 350. Parents of secondary school children, sample size 500.
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