School Food Trust • Parents & carers - Case studies

One Governor’s experience of implementing hot school meals in a small rural primary school

January 2008

h3.Action taken

At present in Somerset, 209 out of 271 schools do not have kitchens and only 58% of schools provide hot lunches for pupils, which is often achieved by transporting hot meals produced off site. Until recently Charlton Mackrell, a C of E Primary School in a rural civil parish, had no hot meal service. That was until Jane Philpott, formerly Vice Chair of Governors, set to change things.

In line with the school’s Food Policy, which ‘recognises the important connection between a healthy diet and a child’s ability to learn effectively and achieve high standards in school’, Jane decided to investigate how to reintroduce a healthy hot meals service to a school with no kitchen.

A questionnaire to parents revealed that 24 out of 25 families would be interested in hot lunches, with 12 families saying that they would purchase lunches every day and the rest between 1 and 3 days a week. So, Jane decided to talk to neighbouring schools’ headteachers about their catering experiences. She presented three options to the Governing Body.

The first option of contracting the Local Authority Catering Service was dismissed as the school felt they could not reach the minimum quota (45 meals every school day) required to qualify for the full hot meals service which includes delivering the meals and collection of dirty dishes. The second option of contracting a local commercial catering business was also dismissed as there were no viable business options available. So, that left the option of employing their own in-house cooks to prepare the meals on or near the school site.

Through further negotiations Jane secured the support of the local community including the hire of the local Community Hall for a minimal £5 a day. Here, meals could be prepared and taken just half a mile down the road to the school where pupils could eat in a designated room..

With these arrangements in place, the decision was taken to go ‘in-house’ based on the following advantages:

Control over menu choices and recipes, using only high quality, fresh, locally-produced ingredients;
Ability to select local suppliers committed to the environment, social responsibility and animal welfare;
Sustainable: ability to minimise the distance over which the food is transported;
Ability to use revenue generated to offset staff costs;
Strong parental support for this option (19 out of 25 families said they would prefer in house cooks).

What were the outcomes and benefits?

On getting the go-ahead two cooks were employed and, on the advice of the Local Authority Senior Catering Adviser, two trial runs were undertaken on two consecutive Thursdays. On advice from the cooks from nearby Baltonsborough C of E Primary School they decided to serve two popular meals: roast dinner and spaghetti bolognese (both with vegetarian options) which were free and taken up by 80 out of 82 children. This large number was achieved in part due to the Headteacher encouraging the few remaining sceptical parents. The usual midday meal supervisers were also given extra help from local community members who volunteered their help.

Almost all the kitchen equipment had to be donated to the school and the local community was very generous in lending what they had, including a hostess trolley, pots and pans, and 100 plates, bowls, knives, forks and spoons; an anonymous donation of £50 was also made.. Two further parents volunteered to help with the washing up.

The trial days saw many teething problems and logistical challenges however, every child was delighted with the food, finishing everything and prompting an emergency trip to the shops for more vegetables. One Year Five girl even told her mother it was the best day she had ever had at school.

Sustainability

The school chose to source produce from a local farm shop two miles away who would deliver to the kitchen for wholesale prices. Bread comes from the local bakery and milk and eggs from the village shop. Other (mainly dry) foodstuffs are procured through a wholesale company supplying local restaurants.

With meals priced at £1.80 per child, the school needed a consistent take-up of over 75 meals a day in order to maintain the quality of the food and still reach break-even point. With only 82-87 pupils on roll Jane approached a neighbouring school to see if they would be interested in the service. Two schools were interested and initially added 22 additional meals to the 73 already currently being served, with other schools also keen to make orders. After one term, the orders from the two other schools have increased to a total of 68 on top of the 75 meals now being provided at Charlton Mackrell. This has led to the need to buy an additional oven and extra equipment, which was possible due to generous donations from Charlton Mackrell Parish Council, the local County Councillor and the local District Councillor.

The school started the meal service one day a week to allow processes to imbed themselves. They have now raised this to two days which is where Jane envisages it will remain for the foreseeable future due to parents’ concerns over costs. She says ‘Although £1.80 per meal is very reasonable, some families have 2-4 children at the schools and costs for them would be significant.’

Learning Experience

Adhering to Food Hygiene Regulations and the Menu planning in relation to the food-based and nutrient-based standards were difficult but with assistance from the local Environmental Health Officer and the Senior Catering Adviser at the Somerset LEA this was all possible. A new sink and a commercial dishwasher have now been installed at the school and further modifications to the production kitchen are planned, for example, installation of fly screens and additional ventilation for the cookers.

Finally, Jane says, ’Despite all of the challenges, I feel that the hard work which has been done largely on a voluntary basis has been worth it, and that we are putting into practice the values articulated in our School Food Policy. The children love the meals, the teachers have already begun to see a difference in the children’s ability to concentrate in the afternoon and a positive community spirit has been engendered.’

To read Jane’s own full report on her experiences of implementing hot lunches in a small rural primary school download the report below.
Implementing hot lunches in a small rural primary school: Charlton Mackrell case study
Click here to download (Adobe pdf doc 1,447KB).