Lunchbox shock sparks veg project
SHERWOOD families are being urged to change their eating habits – after experts got a shock when they rifled through children's lunchboxes.
An ambitious Jamie Oliver-style project starts on the estate next month in a bid to encourage mums and dads to cook and eat fresh produce by growing their own at a community allotment.
The lunchbox audit of pupils at Sherwood Park Primary School revealed many were packed with unhealthy convenience food.
Project co-ordinator Amanda Sheer told the Courier: "While we found the children knew a lot about healthy eating and a balanced diet their lunchboxes had a lot of convenience food in them.
"There is not anywhere that is easily accessible where people in Sherwood can get fresh produce.
"Yes it is ambitious but we're right at the beginning of the project and we're going to give everything a try."
Parts of the Friars Way school's grounds have already been cleared for planting and at Dig Day on March 13 the largest plot will be transformed into an allotment where families will dictate what is grown.
Ms Sheer said: "We are leaving up to the kids to decide what they want to grow but we already have plans for onions, salad ingredients and a big pumpkin and squash patch in the autumn."
Mums and dads will also be taught how to prepare wholesome meals at after school cookery lessons and it is hoped ingredients gathered from the allotments will be used.
The Food4Thought project run by the school and residents at Pepenbury who already grow produce on site at its Pembury base.
Ms Sheer said volunteers from the estate are needed to maintain the growing areas particularly during the Summer holidays and will be rewarded with helpings of fruit and veg.
"It would be great to get a group of mums helping out and in return we could give them fresh produce for their help.
"What we will try and show is you do not have to have a big garden to do this and showing people what you can grow in pots."
The new allotments will be officially launched on April 24 when the growing areas will be on show and visitors can enjoy a barbecue and hop on a Smoothie Bike.
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by Michelle, Tonbridge
Friday, March 19 2010, 8:25PM
“It's wrong to target Sherwood as the junk food estate.
Sounds a bit OTT to have experts who are 'shocked' when they 'rifled through childrens lunch boxes'. Seriously WTF?! Someone needs to rifle through the nosy parker experts lunch boxes. This sort of nonsense is insulting and patronizing to the childrens parents? Do the so called experts think the parents are thick and stupid in Sherwood or what?? There are fast food joints and unhealthy eating options advertised everywhere and people can choose whether they want to eat it or not just as they can choose to walk or take a bus to sainsburys and pick out healthier foods to eat. You don't neccessarily need an allotment.”
by mrs davis, sherwood
Friday, March 12 2010, 12:27PM
“i have a child at sherwood park and i object to the comments that all mothers in sherwood feed their children junk i am proud to say that my children love to eat healthly
i am fed up with the way sherwood is portraied as a bad and rough neighbourhood
i think that any school has a big problem with unhealthy packed lunches but yet again sherwood is being made to be the worst .”
by Mrs J, Sherwood
Thursday, March 11 2010, 11:14AM
“I find all of the comments here to be very detrimental to the area. I live in Sherwood in a very quiet street, I have lovely neighbours who are extremely friendly and most of them have lived here since the houses where built. I am not a single mum, I am with the father of my children, we own our house which was not brought from the council, no one in my household is overweight, we all eat well and I cook home made dinners 99% of the time. My partner and I both work and we do not take any money from the government, apart from Child benefit which is available to everyone regardless of their social class and earnings. I think people need to realise that not everyone in Sherwood falls into the same category, you will find people who don¿t eat a well balanced diet in all areas of Tunbridge Wells and it is very narrow minded of people to put everyone here in the same bracket. Please give Sherwood a break, I am certain that if the lunch boxes of children at St Johns and St James were looked at you would find children with unhealthy snacks too, it is just the name of the area that seems to make people think they have to right judge and tar everyone with the same brush. If you read the original article it is about giving people the opportunity to grow fruit and veg this may have been sparked by the lack of healthy food in the children¿s lunch boxes but shouldn¿t we be praising the head teacher for acting on this in a productive way rather than just being negative about the area and parents!”
by Marjorie, sherwood
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 6:35PM
“how about the sherwood marathon(no girls i dont mean a run round the estate collecting up snickers bars) come on lets fight the flab and prove them wrong,my planned route will take us from the robin hood to the one stop and kebab shop then round greggswood to tn2 and then on to the chines then once you done that we going to do as many laps as we can”
by simon, sherwood
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 6:29PM
“they sell fruit and veg in the one stop just that most mothers avoid it and go for the frozen and microwave stuff,it is all down to laziness,it doesnt take long to boil some veg or make a salad”
by pete, kent
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 6:27PM
“dosent the tn2 cafe do a foot long hot dog for about£2 great example they lead there”
by ron, sherwood
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 6:03PM
“i tell the truth on how it is in sherwood and comments get deleted cant you handle the truth or would you rather brush it under the carpet and cover it up too much of that going on in the uk right now”
by jackie, oak rd
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 1:31PM
“i think this seems to have gotten very personal about mothers in sherewood when its about lunch boxes think they should go to claremont and look in theres im sure theres would be just as bad or try st james”
by Jill, Weald
Sunday, March 07 2010, 8:30AM
“I've been in the TN2 cafe very early in the morning and seen obese women giving their babies and toddlers sweets and crisps and chocolate. They drink fizzy drinks from babies bottles and have chips from the cafe seemingly instead of breakfast.
It's all very well saying that people can eat what they like but the NHS paid for by me is groaning under the weight of obese unhealthy people who are dying because of their right to eat whatever they like.
Educate your children so that at least they have a chance.”
by STEVE, KENT
Saturday, March 06 2010, 11:39AM
“IF I HAD KIDS AT THIS SCHOOL I WOULD BE SO ANGRY ABOUT THEM GOING INTO MY KIDS LUNCHBOXES
I MIGHT JUST ASK IF I COULD RIFLE IN TO THERE HOUSES JUST TO SEE HOW THEY LIVED AND WHAT FOOD THEY HAVE IN THERE CUBORDS
I WONDER WHAT I WOULD FIND IN MRS SHEER CUBOARDS
CRISPS ETC I BET”