Catering and Nutrition
Feeding minds and bodies H
ow does an educational establishment that’s consistently ranked among the UK’s top 100 secondary schools maintain its leading edge? In the case of Watford Grammar School for Boys, Head Master Martin Post, believes one of his school’s secret weapons is the quality of its catering facilities. When Post joined Watford Grammar in 1995, its catering operation was losing around £50,000 each year. He looked to outsourcing as a means of helping it break even. Progress was initially slow, but 12 months ago the school appointed a new school meals provider and it already looks like there will be a small financial surplus at the end of the first year of the contract. Not only that, but the number of pupils opting to stay on school premises to eat has risen considerably. Demand for school meals has grown because of a greatly diversified offering that includes healthy, seasonally-driven menus using fresh, local ingredients, the provision of more cash-free pay stations (cutting down queuing time) and generating interest in the benefits of healthy eating.
Post has long been an advocate of the direct correlation between academic performance and a healthy lifestyle, and finding a catering partner on the same wave-length has been manna from heaven. It’s this, combined with the caterers in-depth understanding of the school environment and hands-on, partnership approach to the relationship that has made all the difference. The boys at Watford Grammar have developed a real taste for good food; catering partner, Pabulum, has helped the school develop a food technology centre and there’s a waiting list to join the optional course on university survival cooking; cookery competition winners see their ideas translated into menu items in the school dining room and the 6th form loyalty scheme has lured many away from the fast food outlets available a stone’s throw from the school gates. Just as an army is said to march on its stomach, Watford Grammar climbs the league tables nourished by good food and healthy outsourcing partnerships.
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www.pabulum-catering.co.uk
Campaign sees food waste halve S
omerset outdoor activity centre Mill on the Brue has seen the amount of food waste it produces halve from a tonne to half a tonne in the last year. The not-for-profit centre in Bruton cooks around 35,000 meals annually for its visitors, which include children, schools and organisations from across the UK. All meals are cooked on-site, using organic homegrown vegetables and fruit, and local produce wherever possible.
But director Tricia Rawlingson Plant, who established the centre around strong environmental principles, was getting concerned as food waste kept increasing. She explained: “We’d noticed that children are becoming fussier about what foods they will eat, and our food waste was becoming heavier and having to go to landfill. “Then I had a light bulb moment – why not simply reduce portions with the aim of getting everyone to finish what they have and have clean plates?”
By doing this and simultaneously raising awareness about the wider implications of food waste, Mill on the Brue began to see a definite change.
The next step was to encourage competition between schools. “We started weighing waste daily and put up a competitive Beat Food Waste campaign chart where the children can see how much food waste they and previous
October 2013
schools produced in kilograms and grams per person.
“Children joined in enthusiastically, to the extent that one new instructor, about to throw away half a bowl of cornflakes, was greeted by eight furious faces who told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t going to throw it in their bin!”
The winning schools – with zero waste - were Forres Sandle Manor School, Fordingbridge, Hampshire and Trent Young’s Endowed Primary School, Sherborne. Tricia added: “Children weren’t eating too much, they were just taking too much and then seeing nothing wrong in throwing it away because they didn’t understand the
consequences. There are always seconds (or thirds) available so no one goes hungry. “It’s been a real success and we’re pleased that many schools are taking the Beat Food Waste campaign methods back to put into practice at their own school lunch times. We’ll be keeping an eye on this as we’re keen to see the wider benefits of the campaign.” One parent commented: “My son was quite a fussy eater before staying at the centre, but the food waste challenge inspired him to eat new things and I am very pleased to say he is now eating much better at home.”
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www.millonthebrue.co.uk www.education-today.co.uk 29
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