Congratulations to Dahlia and Amelia from St Edwards C.E Primary school for being our latest winners to the Bike voucher from Halfords, all for just having a school meal.

Veggie Run, Havering Council’s award-winning healthy living campaign, is offering even more rewards to pupils who eat a healthy catered lunch in school thanks to two leading food suppliers. 

The Council is partnering with butchers William White Meats and vegetable suppliers Prescott Thomas to create, ‘Veggie Run Family Roast Dinner Boxes.’

From Monday, 23 September any primary, junior or infant pupil who eats a healthy catered school lunch from award-winning Havering Education Service’s (HES) Catering Services will be in with a chance of winning  one of these ‘Veggie Run Family Roast Dinner Boxes’ worth £25, to cook at home.

Every Thursday throughout the academic year until July 2020, a Havering primary school pupil will be selected at random to take home a Veggie Run roast dinner box if they have eaten a school-catered lunch that week.

These amazing prizes are aimed at developing children’s healthy cooking skills with their family.

Every roast dinner box will feed four to six people, and will include either 2kg topside beef, a whole chicken, pork loin or turkey from Butchers William White Meats Ltd and vegetables from supplier Prescott Thomas Ltd. Pupils and their family can then follow the Veggie Run roast dinner recipe cards to create a wholesome healthy meal.

Cllr Robert Benham, Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families, said:

“I am delighted that through the Council’s healthy living Veggie Run campaign we are encouraging more pupils to cook from scratch with their families.

“HES Catering Services is passionate about organic food ingredients and home cooking, and they want to inspire and support Havering’s primary schoolchildren to become more confident and independent in the kitchen.”

HES Catering Services are keen to see pupils roast dinner cooking achievements and ask parents to share photos on social media using #VeggieRun

Havering Council is working with London Marathon Events Ltd, organisers of the world’s greatest marathon, to encourage more schools across Havering to take part in The Daily Mile^TM – a global initiative to get pupils jogging or running for 15 minutes every day, at their own pace.

Currently only six schools out of the borough’s 59 primary, junior and infant schools have adopted this healthy initiative within their school. To encourage schools to sign up for The Daily Mile, London Marathon Events will award a £250 prize to one lucky school this term and another £250 prize during the summer term. Schools just need to register at www.thedailymile.co.uk to be entered into the prize draw and the winning school can spend this money on anything that helps keep their children active.

Veggie Run, the award winning Council-created app aimed at educating children about healthy living, and rewarding them and their schools with sporty prizes will also play a key part in encouraging schools to participate in The Daily Mile.

Cllr Robert Benham, Cabinet Member for Education, Children and families, said:

“Through our collaboration with London Marathon Events, supported by Veggie run, we aim to encourage more schools in our borough to sign up for The Daily Mile and support pupils to increase their daily activity during the school day.

“Research has shown children’s physical, social, emotional and mental health improves with increased physical activity.”

Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Events Director, said:

“I am delighted to be working with the team at Havering to get more children involved with The Daily Mile.  We want to inspire activity and help Havering’s primary schoolchildren to become the most physically active in London by inspiring fun, regular activity.  My challenge is for every school in Havering to take part in 15 minutes running or jogging every day, it will make a massive difference to their health – and it helps them to concentrate in the classroom.”

Elaine Wyllie, Founder, The Daily Mile said:

“The Daily Mile is simple and free – it gets children out of the classroom for 15 minutes every day. Everyone can take part – the children an run at their own pace.  I hope every school in Havering signs up to take part and helps their children get fit for learning and fit for life.”

Veggie Run is also rewarding pupils who eat healthy school catered lunches this term. KS2 pupils who eat a school meal from 9 September to 18 October will have the opportunity to win 1 of 60 new bikes from Halfords.  The top six schools with the highest uptake of pupils eating school meals will win class trips to Stubbers Adventure centre.

Pupils who gain a top ten ranking on the Veggie Run leader board will also win a weeks’ worth of catered free lunches every half term.

After receiving over 200 designs from Havering pupils, HES Catering Services are pleased to announce that Lucca from The Mawney Foundation School won  an entire terms worth of free catered lunches this term.  After he successfully designed the first Veggie Run arch enemy, ‘Sugar Cube’.

Veggie Run is back this term, bringing healthy catered lunches every day to Havering primary, infant and junior school as well as lots of new competitions.

KS2 pupils have the opportunity to win one of 60 new bikes from Halfords, simply by eating a catered school lunch until 18 October 2019.

Winners of the SAT Week Bike Competition this week had a surprise visit from our Head of Catering Dennis Brewin to deliver their bikes.

We would like to say Well done to our bike winners, and for those who didn’t win, look out for more competitions with some great prizes