As school kitchens prepare to open their serveries once again for a new school year, here's a reminder of our top 'back to school' tips.
Our chairman, Rob Rees, says: “It’s crucial to get off to a flying start when it comes to promoting your menus to families, and these tips will help.
“With many stores pushing less healthy lunchbox treats at this time of year, it’s the month to get families thinking about the value for money offered by your healthy meals.
“It’s particularly important to remind parents of the time factor – we estimate that they can save themselves the equivalent of around eight days a year in the kitchen by choosing school meals instead of packed lunches.”
Here are some ideas to try:
- Parent taster sessions can work well for reception year and Year 7
- Invite families into school to eat with their children in the first few weeks. You get to show off the quality of your food and families can put their minds at rest that their children are choosing from a decent menu
- Offer a one-off evening service – a chance for families to have their tea in the school dining room together
- Make sure parents know about your menus – send copies home early in the term, put them on the school website or use social media sites such as
- Facebook and Twitter to give daily updates about what’s on the servery today
- Don’t forget your teachers – they can promote school meals when they’re talking to parents of new pupils. Offer them the chance to try any new dishes you’re adding to the menu this year
- Think about your menu for the first weeks, and try to include some of your biggest-sellers. Give your suppliers the chance to promote products with free tasters
- Offer free meals for the first day or week, or perhaps try ‘buy 4, get Friday free’
- Reduce the price of school meals for a fixed period – many schools have tried ‘All Meals for £1’, with great success
- Theme days are always a winner – you’ll find inspiration and free materials to download from our Marketing and Design Generator (MADGe) website
- Loyalty rewards schemes often go down well – children collect points for each school meal they buy, then can enter a prize draw. You’ll find sample loyalty cards to download on MADGe
- Use your school newsletter – write an article about any special offers you’ll be running in the first half term and remind families to claim free school meals if they qualify
- Create a ‘top table’ – where pupils who’ve behaved well or delivered good work can sit, choose their own menu and invite a select few friends to join them
- Create a school food group early in the term – representatives from each school year who can give you feedback and new ideas.
