Free school meals for four- to seven-year-olds and those from low income families might have alleviated the daily burden for thousands of UK parents of packing a nutritious lunchbox that children will actually eat, but for Britain’s millions of Muslim parents the daily struggle of what to feed their kids for lunch is still real. And it’s stressing them out.
Whilst two thirds (66 per cent) of UK Muslim mums think schools offer enough halal food choices for their kids at lunchtime, nine out of ten (92 per cent) still choose to pack their children off to school with a lunchbox rather than allowing them to have a school meal, according to new research carried out on behalf of halal cooked meat brand Najma.
And for Muslim parents, making sure their child’s lunchtime offering is halal is essential, with 98 per cent of Muslim mums giving their kids a halal packed lunch to take to school every day.
But it’s clear packing a halal lunchbox is causing huge angst, with three quarters (76 per cent) of Muslim mums admitting to being stressed out as they worry about whether what they are offering is halal-friendly, if it will fill their children up, is nutritious enough, or even if their child will compare what’s in their lunchbox with their friends’.
When delving deeper into what the nation’s Muslim children have packed in their lunchboxes, almost all contain some kind of halal food, whether it’s meat (79 per cent) or dairy (55 per cent), with the majority including a mix of home cooked and shop bought items.
Muslim mum and cookbook author Anisa Karolia
According to the research, other favourite items in UK Muslim children’s lunchboxes include fresh or dried fruits, wraps and sandwiches and rice, pasta and bread. Two fifths (40 per cent) of lunchboxes also include a chocolate bar or vegetable sticks, 39 per cent include crisps and 23 per cent contain sweets – although in Wales sweets feature in an incredible 80% of packed lunches.
Over a quarter (27 per cent) of kids’ lunchboxes contain only home cooked foods, with no shop-purchased convenience food at all, rising to half (50 per cent) in Scotland and three quarters (75 per cent) in Northern Ireland.
“We recognise that Muslim mums often find it a real challenge preparing school lunchboxes for their children," said Karama Khudairi, Senior Brand Manager for Najma: They want to give their kids options that are not only halal but also taste great and enable them to fit in with the other children in their class. We want to help Muslim mums by offering a broad range of delicious lunchbox solutions we know their kids will love.
“However, according to our research, half of respondents said they find it difficult to find trusted halal foods in the supermarket and struggle to hunt them down, resulting in just three percent of lunchboxes containing only shop bought items.
“In Scotland, the situation is even worse, with nine in ten Muslim parents unable to find suitable halal foods for the lunchbox. With a third of Scottish Muslim mums believing there isn’t enough halal food availability in schools either, it’s understandable parents are getting stressed on a daily basis with knowing what to feed their kids.”
Another major worry for Muslim mums packing lunchboxes is the cost, with a fifth (22 per cent) raising it as a concern, particularly during the current cost of living crisis.
“What parents need is a wider variety of halal convenience food options in the supermarket which can help alleviate some of the stress of packing a suitable lunchbox for their children. But importantly, these must be from halal brands like Najma that people can trust,” added Karama.
The Muslim population is the fastest-growing minority group in the UK and there are currently approximate four million British Muslims according to the latest Government Census. Ten percent of all school age children aged five to fifteen in England are Muslim – that’s nearly 700,000 children, and the proportion of Muslims under the age of 15 years old is almost double that of the overall population.
Muslim mum and cookbook author Anisa Karolia, from Leicester, said, "Packing a halal lunchbox gives Muslim parents confidence their children won't go hungry, whilst keeping with Islamic values and beliefs."
Nilly Dahlia, a mum of three from East Sussex, explained: “As a Muslim mother, packing a lunchbox isn’t just about food, it’s about identity, love and care. I never had Halal options growing up, so being able to give my children variety, flavour, and confidence in what they eat feels deeply healing. It’s a quiet joy knowing they feel seen – even at lunchtime.”