The central manufacturing kitchen has the capacity to produce and provide 33,000 meals every day
Special delivery
U
ndertaking any project for a client is a privilege and responsibility we respect and value seriously, but when the brief involves producing
33,000 meals daily for school children the project takes on a whole new meaning and level of importance,” says New Zealand consultant Phil LLlewellyn FCSI, director of Project Design Consulting (PDC), who took on the task to deliver a massive central manufacturing kitchen in line with the government healthy school meal policy. According to the New Zealand
Government’s Ministry of Education, around one in five of the country’s children live in households that struggle to put enough good-quality food on the table. In communities facing greater socio-economic barriers, 40% of parents run out of food sometimes or often. Te aim of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako
program, introduced by the government in 2020, is to reduce food insecurity by providing access to a nutritious lunch, free of charge, every day.Te name is about being healthy and well in order to be in a good place to learn. Libelle Group has been at the forefront
of providing these school meals, growing from a small catering business, to a nationwide specialist in foodservice. Its first tuckshop opened in 2015 and it went on to launch a (self-funded) free lunch program at Taita College, near Wellington in 2019. Serving around 33,000 students from
the far north down to Timaru on South Island, its operational model involved central production kitchens (CPKs) in
key areas, delivering meals to schools while larger schools had their own on- site kitchens. “Te idea of a centralized kitchen emerged to address operational challenges, aiming for consistency, improved quality, and efficiency,” says Llewellyn. “Libelle’s vision included streamlining meal production for Ka Ora, Ka Ako, ensuring nationwide consistency. Te larger goal was to enhance efficiency, quality, and explore opportunities to expand into new markets.” Construction of the central
manufacturing kitchen (CMK) started in 2022 and was completed in January 2023. Now with around 60 tuckshops, more than 100 Ka Ora, Ka Ako schools, and residential catering services. Libelle reports improved meal quality; presentation and product consistency through centralized production; and operational efficiency gains with a reduction of costs.
A BROAD BRIEF
Llewellyn’s team was engaged to oversee all aspects of the project, from brief and process development to design documentation, statutory approvals, equipment sourcing, procurement, and site supervision. Tey got involved in all elements, including menu efficiency, process planning, scalability, sustainability, packaging, recycling, transport planning, food safety, staff facilities and future third-party requirements. Libelle found an ideal site, which was
well placed for distribution around the North Island, but it quickly became evident that the space required for the volume of food being processed meant that the entire building soon became too small, and the floor plan had to be increased. PDC introduced many industry partners to help with specialized processes such as modified atmosphere packaging, high volume blast chilling and meal assembly. Changes to the existing floor plan included moving all plant, new blast chillers and finished goods refrigerated storage outside of the existing building envelope.
“Te primary cooking equipment is
large scale to meet the required daily output and includes 40 tray combi ovens, 500-liter steam kettles and 400-liter bratt pans,” says Llewellyn. “To meet sustainability goals, the existing gas supply was replaced to allow all equipment to be electric and required the installation of a new 1000KVA transformer to be installed.” Processing the food ready for packaging
requires volumetric food pumps and smart indexing conveyor systems – fortunately, experts from these industries exporting globally, were found near the site. Other project partners included four
custom-build blast chillers, each chiller handling 750kgs per cycle, modified atmosphere packaging gas flushing, dual packing lines with multiple control points, diversion and back up points, rotary packing tables, inkjet printers and leak detection. “Te whole process has to maintain an average of 1,500 meals per hour to meet the daily requirement,” says Llewellyn. As an integral component of the CMK
initiative, when a ‘right fit’ could not be identified Libelle would develop their own, such as a dedicated logistics network, capable of delivering throughout the North Island to more than 120 separate locations.
BOLD AND INSPIRING
Te catering company is now in the process of extending delivery services to cover the South Island. Tis expansion aligns with a commitment to providing comprehensive culinary solutions and ensuring efficient distribution across diverse regions, fostering accessibility and convenience for clients. Te commitment to the program, starting from a self-funded trial through to the investment in the CMK has been bold and inspiring, says Llewellyn. “To see first- hand from their 33,000 daily customers the satisfaction and genuine enjoyment is humbling,” he concludes. “To hear of the increased learning and educational benefits this program provides is uplifting.”
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