Healthy School Meals

Our catering offer

At Lister Community School, we are committed to providing high quality, nutritious food on our school site.  In June 2020, we conducted a detailed tendering process, and selected London based Accent Catering as a supplier we thought best able to deliver the services that we wanted for our students.

  • Simple – all of the meals we serve your children have been kept as simple as possible, using the same ingredients you’d find at home.
  • Fresh  – we hand make all of our lunches that morning.
  • Nutritious – every one of our recipes has been carefully selected to provide your child with the nutrition their growing bodies need.
  • Quality – we insist on the highest quality ingredients, from fresh fruit and veg to red tractor approved, grade A meat.

We meet regularly with our onsite catering team, and also ensure that we seek feedback from our students in order that we continue to provide a catering service that meets their needs.

The Rainbow Cafe

In summer 2023, we were delighted to celebrate the opening of the Rainbow Cafe – our new on-site cafe which is available to staff and to the general public.  The Cafe is open throughout term time, and provides tea, coffee, sandwiches and snacks in a bright and contemporary environment.

Allergies and food intolerances

If you have any food allergies or food intolerances please talk to our chef who will be able to advise you on food and drink options that suits your needs.

Some of our menu items contain gluten, dairy, egg and other food allergens. Due to our cooking environment there is a risk that traces of these may be in any other dish or food that we serve. We understand the dangers to those with serve allergies, so advise you to speak to a member of staff who may be able to help you make an alternative choice.

Free school meals – eligibility and how to apply

Although all Newham primary school children are automatically provided with free school meals, this is not the case for secondary students, who have to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible. However, a large number of our students are eligible and we thus encourage parents and carers to make the application to the borough on their behalf, via this page on the Newham website.  Please note that you will need your National Insurance Number in order to complete the application.

Eligibility criteria

Your child may receive free school meals if you get any of the following benefits:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guarantee element of Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.

Further information regarding the criteria and the application process is available in this letter to parents.