Sustainable lunch helps pupils focus on 'green' fish
Around 12,000 primary schoolchildren in the Vale of Glamorgan are tucking into eco-friendly 'green' fish lunches as part of a mission to save our oceans.
The new healthy lunch menu, with fish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), includes salmon nuggets, cod cakes, salmon fingers and fish fingers, was launched by Vale Catering Services at St Andrew's Major Church in Wales School at Dinas Powys. Pupils and staff were joined by Vale council leader Cllr Margaret Alexander and cabinet member for education and training Cllr Nigel Gibbs.
The MSC’s distinctive blue eco-label guarantees the fish were caught sustainably. It is awarded to fisheries that have shown that they keep marine habitats intact, protect endangered species and do not contribute to overfishing.
As well as eating eco-labelled fish, children will also learn about the problems of overfishing through the MSC's Fish & Kids project which aims to teach pupils how fish gets on to our plates - from ocean to oven - why it is good for us and why we are in danger of running out of fish.
Schools across the Vale will use Fish & Kids materials to teach pupils about the need for a solution to the global problems of overfishing to ensure there will always be enough fish to feed children just like them.
Cllr Alexander said: "I am proud that the Vale is taking a prominent role in educating pupils on sustainable fish and fishing. The nutritional value of school dinners is very much at the forefront of debate these days. With Fish & Kids, we feed our children healthy food and make sure we have fish to serve in the future. This is such an important initiative."
Vale Head of Catering Rita Hicks said: "I am thrilled that our authority is taking its first steps in this way. It is important that, from a young age, there is an understanding where food comes from and how it is produced. This scheme will, in turn, encourage many to become responsible consumers in later life."
Forty-seven Vale schools are involved in Fish & Kids, and project manager Laura Stewart said that more were due to join. She added: “Thanks to the blue MSC eco-label, the children, parents and teachers can be sure that products were caught in a sustainable manner and do not contribute to overfishing.”
The menu co-ordinator for Vale primary schools, Carole Tyley, said: “Healthy school meals are at the top of our agenda but we also care about where our food comes from."
Celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, who is promoting the Fish & Kids project, says: "This is a fantastic way of getting everyone involved in caring for our seas. We can all try and help protect our oceans by choosing the MSC eco-label, as often as we can, from the school cafeteria, in restaurants and at home.”
For more information about Fish & Kids, please visit www.fishandkids.org.
Caption: Murdock, the mascot of the Marine Stewardship Council, joined children at St Andrew's Major Church in Wales School, Dinas Powys, for the launch by Vale Catering Services of a new healthy lunch menu with fish certified by the MSC.