The Kidz Lunch Co

Posted by The Live UnLtd Team In .

Every day in Britain five million lunchboxes are prepared. Yet of these, three out of every four packed lunches are likely to contain foods that are too high in saturated fats, salt and sugar. This was the finding of a Food Standards Agency survey, which also discovered the worrying fact that more than half of lunches fail to include any fruit.

Step in Jahmila Connage, who saw a way to help change the situation. “With some lunches that parents make, they may be lacking in something but they aren’t aware of it,” says the 23-year-old. “I felt that with my food background and nutritional knowledge I could definitely do something to help.”

Jahmila came up with Kidz Lunch Co three years ago to allow busy parents to order their children’s lunches online, which are then delivered directly to the school. The menus adhere to government guidelines to ensure they are healthy and balanced, and consist of high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients.

“I fully appreciate that for parents to come up with a varied and acceptable menu daily amid all the other demands of modern life can be difficult. Very often it’s not price that’s an issue but the fact that a lot of young people can be quite fussy when it comes to the food they eat,” says Jahmila, who herself has a young daughter.

“We take that daily stress away by allowing customers to ‘build their own lunch’ to ensure that only items they like are included.”

Thinking big

Jahmila, who studied catering and hospitality in college and has completed a course on nutrition, is currently working with four schools in Brent in North London, and is helped by family, friends and volunteers. She won Live UnLtd backing to allow her to increase the number of schools she serves to ten.

“Ideally we’d love for most of the parents in Brent who already make pack lunches for their children to place frequent weekly orders so that we could have a full team of caterers and a fleet of vans,” she says.

One of the issues the Kidz Lunch Co faces is that some state schools already provide a lunch service, and they prefer for their pupils to have school dinners. “It’s state schools that are our main focus because we’re trying to ensure that healthy food is affordable and enjoyed by all,” says Jahmila. “However, we have gone to some of the private schools, and they’ve been extremely welcoming, especially those that don’t have a canteen.”

As one of the top UK young social entrepreneurs, Jahmila met the Prime Minister.

The Kidz Lunch Co: The personal touch

Jahmila, who studies business, finance and marketing in addition to running the Kidz Lunch Co, believes in the personal touch.

“I put my face in everyone’s face,” says Jahmila, laughing. “I go to the schools, I deliver the food, I speak to the headteachers and staff – my approach is very personal because having a daughter myself I understand that people want to know exactly who is preparing their children’s food. It’s vital to have a personal relationship with the parents and for them to feel that they trust you.”

In spreading the word about what she does, she has catered for community events and companies in order to directly show parents what The Kidz Lunch Co offer. “It’s all about word of mouth,” she says.

For more information, you can visit kidzlunchco.co.uk.