Scottish cooking bus to boost healthy eating

The cooking bus will teach pupils, parents, teachers and community groups about food handling and preparation skills, and show them how to make simple meals.

The bus has a plasma screen so local communities can watch bus workshops live, in an attempt to reduce poor health and obesity in deprived areas.

The Scottish Government has also passed new legislation to ban unhealthy snacks from primary schools as part of its healthy eating drive. From this summer primary schools will be banned from providing sweets and fizzy drinks for children, and chips will only be served as part of a nutritionally balanced meal.

New school menus will offer a minimum of two portions of fruit and vegetables at lunchtimes and will serve oily fish once every three weeks. Deep fried foods will be limited to three times a week.

Shona Robinson, public health minister for Scotland, said: As part of Scotland’s first ever national food and drink policy we are encouraging people to develop healthy eating habits that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.