HUNDREDS of Kent children have been learning about healthy eating from a new award-winning website created by Medway-based Initial Catering Services.

Its site, Coolmeals.co.uk, has just won Contract Catering Site of the Year at the Caterer.com awards.

It teaches children the importance of a well-balanced diet and has been receiving more than 12,000 hits a week. It has been named as "site of the day'' on Steve Wright's Radio 2 show.

ICS is at the Medway City Estate and managing director, Jim Walker, said: "Coolmeals has been a huge success and we are very proud to have won the Caterer.com award.

"Every week we receive hundreds of e-mails from children wanting to know how they can eat more healthily. The feedback we have been getting suggests that the healthy eating message is really starting to get through.''

Children can tell coolmeal.co.uk what they eat each day and every month the child that is judged to have eaten most healthily receives a handheld computer console.

The site also provides teachers with suggestions for in-school activities that help pupils understand what makes up a nutritious diet.

Initial Catering Services, part of the Rentokil Initial group, provides contract catering to business and industry and state and independent education.