A competition has been launched to encourage our students to bring healthy lunch boxes to school.

The initiative was launched by the Friends of CBA and follows on from the Academy's Restaurant Team winning the Healthy Eating Workplace of the Year - Health & Education award in the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2014-15.

The Friends of CBA hope the competition will help parents, carers, students and staff to come up with a variety of new ideas for nutritious and exciting lunches for students who bring their own food to school.

Vice Principal Ruth Hurcombe said: "This is an exciting new competition and the winner will receive a £30 Amazon voucher.

"The best recipes will be published on the Academy website for parents and students to use."

The NHS Choices website suggests that a balanced packed lunch should include:

• starchy foods – these are bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, and others

• protein foods – including meat, fish, eggs, beans, and others

• a dairy item – this could be cheese or a yoghurt

• vegetables or salad, and a portion of fruit

Starchy foods are a good source of energy, and should make up a third of the lunchbox. But don't let things get boring. Instead of sandwiches, give kids bagels, pitta bread, wraps and baguettes. Use brown, wholemeal or seeded bread, not white bread.

The entries will be judged by CBA Restaurant Manager Chris Lapsley and representatives from the Friends of CBA.

All entries must be submitted to CLapsley@corbybusinessacademy.org or to restaurant staff by Friday 27th March.

For more information about ideas for healthy packed lunches visit http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/healthy-lunchbox-picnic.aspx and http://www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/parents/schoolfood/packedlunches