ADVERTORIAL


Feeding the Future: Tackling the Top 3 School Catering Challenges


Rupert Weber, Head of Education of apetito explores how schools can tackle catering challenges head on.


Here at apetito, we believe no school should settle for less when it comes to the quality of meals being served to pupils. However, the current landscape means that many schools and contract caterers are facing real challenges when it comes to serving exceptional meals.


From speaking to schools, we know there are three major challenges they’re facing:


Top 3 Catering Chalenges:


1. 2.


3.


Quality — Schools are finding it increasingly challenging to offer pupils high-quality, nutritious meals. There is a real decline in the quality of food being served and in too many cases, school menus are lacking variety and nutritional balance, which in turn is resulting in a reduction in hot meal uptake.


Cost — Many schools and contract caterers are dealing with tightening budgets, the highest rates of food inflation seen in decades, aging


kitchens in desperate need of reinvestment and record wage costs, resulting in many needing to cut costs – which for some means cheaper ingredients, reduced portion sizes, or offering a limited menu. While these measures may help balance the books in the short term, they can have long-term consequences for pupils’ health and well-being.


Labour — We haven’t seen such volatility in the labour market for many decades. Schools across the country are dealing with a significant labour


crisis and we know schools and contract-caterers are struggling to recruit chefs with the right skills, ever since thousands left the industry during the pandemic. This crisis has reached boiling point and we’re even seeing some schools being left without hot meals due to staff shortages.


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