Catering Services

School Meals and Hospitality

Catering Services have always been proactive ditching 'turkey twizzlers' long before Jamie Oliver outlawed them on television.

We take very seriously the huge responsibility of ensuring that the children of our borough enjoy a healthy well-balanced and nutritious midday meal to enable them to partake of their school day to the full.

Our friendly team are all fully trained and qualified, monitored and continue to receive in-house training throughout their career with Catering Services, remaining focused able to concentrate and deal with new learning challenges.

Our menus are carefully planned and wherever possible we take into consideration children's likes and dislikes. In line with central government guidelines all our menus are nutritionally analysed and we follow a three-week menu cycle to ensure variety.

Taking on board the cultures within our borough we try to offer a range of ethnic meals and are always happy to cater for special dietary requirements.

Every day a hot meal is on offer and there is always a vegetarian option available. In order to take the strain out of school lunches for busy parents and guardians we also offer a packed lunch alternative, which as with the hot meal is well-balanced and nutritious.

The price of a school meal is dictated by central and local government but we always ensure value for money and source local ingredients wherever possible. Again following central government guidelines we have introduced a nutritional analysis software programme for all our school meals.

The new standards, introduced in September 2006, require the following:

High-quality meat, poultry or oily fish regularly available
At least two portions of fruit and vegetables with every meal
Bread, other cereals and potatoes regularly available

Additionally, there are controls on the following foods:

Deep-fried food limited to no more than two portions per week
Fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate and other confectioneries removed from school meals and vending machines

And new initiatives:

Introduction of cashless catering, allowing parents to pay for school meals via the internet with incentives linked to healthy eating generating opportunities to take part in healthy lifestyle experiences
Working towards food for life partnership

To this end we attend School Councils, hold Pupil Focus Groups, as well as operating our own Menu Working Parties. We endeavour to work in partnership with schools, attending assemblies and open evenings, where we actively promote the advantages of having a healthy school meal.

Having a school meal is a social experience, not just eating a meal. Children are encouraged to use good manners and learn how to interact with their peers at meals times.

A continuous programme of internal auditing ensures standards and systems are adhered to. There is an on-going programme of in-house and accredited training.

School Meals|

What we are doing and what we will be doing in the future to ensure that the children of our borough receive interesting and nutritious school dinners.

Hospitality|

A wide range of flexible solutions designed to meet all your catering needs.

Millennium Centre Café|

In response to the wishes of park visitors, we have launched a brand new café at the popular Millennium Centre.

The Catering Team|

Contact

Catering Services Manager

Catering Services School Meals and Hospitality

Town Hall

1 Town Square

Barking

IG11 7LU

Tel: 020 8227 5509

Fax: 020 8227 5562

Email: cateringservices.schoolmeals@lbbd.gov.uk|

Pupils and Parents may like to visit the Lunchbite website.

Online orders for hospitality|