School Meals
Innovating Free School Meals Y
Comment by Nick Freeman, Student & Client Liaison, Innovate Services
ou would think that giving food away to students who are eligible for a free school meal would be easy. It is after all free food! However due to the way the Free School Meal (FSM) system has been handled in the past many students still opt not to take up their free meal. We believe this is often down to the perceived stigma attached. In addition, it can be tricky to work out exactly what a student is able to have for the free school meal price, and going over budget can lead to an awkward situation at the till. For some children, the free meal they receive at school may be the only balanced meal they have access to each day, so we believe it is vital to make it as easy as possible to take it up. This means no awkward till procedure or separate process.
In order to increase uptake of free school meals, we believe there are a number of steps that schools need to take. Schools need to be creative and deliver new marketing initiatives that help overcome these issues. It needs to be as simple as
possible for students to immediately know exactly what is available at the FSM price. Plus schools need to consider ways of making the transaction as anonymous as possible so those taking a FSM don’t stand out from the crowd. For example, the implementation of electronic, cashless or biometric payment systems makes all student transactions seamless, regardless of whether they are for a paid or free meal. We feel meals deals and promotions that excite and inspire help to encourage more students to take up the free meal that is available to them.
u08454 940005
uwww.innovate-services.com
Gino D’Acampo launches ‘Simply Fantastico’ food into UK schools
A
brand new authentic Italian meal range, designed by Gino D’Acampo exclusively for Innovate Services Ltd is launching onto the lunch menus of all Innovate’s 65 school restaurants during March.
Gino D’Acampo was invited by the school catering firm to create a selection of new Italian pasta recipes that use the best quality ingredients and are freshly served during lunch and break times. Gino D’Acampo has designed 12 dishes as part of a new ‘Simply Fantastico’ range to offer students a choice of real Italian pastas, based on traditional recipes.
Commenting on the launch, Gino D’Acampo said, “Innovate has a genuine desire to make school dinners the very best they can be for students, and I like their focus on sourcing the best food and ingredients for their school restaurants. I was therefore excited at being invited to bring a real taste of my native Italy to students across the UK and am proud to develop these dishes for Innovate.” Added Derick Martin of Innovate Services, “Pasta is a firm favourite for most students and so we were keen to give them something to get truly excited about. For a long time we have been looking for the right solution and are now very confident that we’ve found it having partnered exclusively with Gino D’Acampo. The range has been composed by Gino with a focus on simplicity and taste, and we plan to rotate these 12 new flavours across our school restaurant’s daily menus.”
u08454 940005
uwww.innovate-services.com
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www.education-today.co.uk March 2012
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