Latest News

Wallace and Gromit’s ‘grand day out’ in Herts schools

30 March 2012

Hertfordshire County Council has joined up with Wallace and Gromit and Pasta King to launch a new charity fundraising initiative at primary schools across the county - the more children who have special meals, the more money Pasta King will donate to charity.

Every third Thursday in the month, your local county council's Good School Food Team from Hertfordshire Catering will be holding special Wallace and Gromit lunches in schools across the county. £1 for every case of pasta sauce used will be donated by Pasta King to Wallace and Gromit’s Children’s Foundation.

School cook ‘train the trainer’ scheme launched

29 March 2012

School cooks wanting to boost their training skills for passing on their kitchen know-how can now turn to new support from the School Food Trust.

The charity is launching the service for the many school cooks around the country who are often called upon to deliver training on kitchen and cooking skills to less experienced staff, but who may not feel they have the confidence or the teaching skills they need.

Department of Health says calories to be 'capped and cut'

26 March 2012

The country’s biggest caterers, supermarkets, food manufacturers and food outlets are joining forces to help cut five billion calories from the nation’s daily diet, the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced.

Contract caterer Compass, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Coca-Cola Great Britain, Kerry Foods, Kraft, Mars, Nestle, PepsiCo, Premier Foods, Unilever, Beefeater (Whitbread) and Subway have all signed the Responsibility Deal’s calorie reduction pledge and made commitments.

New food growing programme launches in Barking and Dagenham

26 March 2012 | London Region

Teachers, pupils and local councillors in Barking and Dagenham have launched a new food growing programme across the region to help educate pupils about the growing process and where food comes from.

McCain Foods has helped to support the activity by providing curriculum based booklets, called 'Learn more with food galore', for teachers to use with pupils in class and also by supplying the participating schools with seeds and gardening equipment, including rakes, spades and watering cans.

SCoTY 2012 final line-up confirmed

23 March 2012

The full line-up of 10 regional winners has been finalised and now LACA’s School Chef of the Year competition is gearing up for the national final on May 23.

That will take place at the Food Services Wing, Defence Logistics School at Worthy Down in Hampshire.

Head of judges Justin Clarke, head of development with sponsor Nestle Professional’s Maggi brand, began the regional final round at Croydon College in London on January 17 and finished up at the South East regional final at Brooklands College, Weybridge on March 22.

World Water Day challenges embraced by UK foodservice

22 March 2012

The only responsible reaction to the world’s water challenge – which poses a long-term threat to the foodservice industry and society as a whole – is a collaborative, public policy-driven response, according to a new report from Nestlé.

The Meeting the Global Water Challenge report, released to coincide with International World Water Day today, catalogues the work the global food and drink group has done in this area and outlines its continuing commitment to using water sustainably.

Grace Academy Solihull students partner with Aspens Services

22 March 2012 | West Midlands Region

Students at the Grace Academy Solihull have partnered with Academy caterer Aspens Services to supply them with fresh, local produce - grown in the Academy’s own vegetable garden.

Leek and potato soup and leek, potato and cheese pie – made using leeks grown at Grace Academy Solihull - are some of the first dishes to appear on the Academy's lunchtime menu through the new initiative.

Aspens is using the GreenGracers brand name devised by students to identify and promote dishes using the Academy-grown produce.

McCain Foods creates Diamond Jubilee posters for school caterers

21 March 2012

McCain Foods has developed a series of Diamond Jubilee themed posters to help school caterers mark 60 years of the Queen’s reign and drive school meal uptake through special breaktime or lunch dishes and menus.

Jo Simmons, McCain Foods’ Senior Brand Manager, explained: “Promoting the school meal service to teachers, parents and pupils is vital to driving uptake but with funds increasingly directed elsewhere, this is no longer always possible.

“The Diamond Jubilee is a fantastic occasion and offers school caterers a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the school meal serv

Junk food ads face being banned to curb childhood obesity

20 March 2012

Junk food ads could be banned from prime time TV in a bid to tackle childhood obesity, according to The Scottish Government.

Michael Matheson has written to Westminster Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to ask whether he would support a move to introduce a ban across the UK.

It follows recent research from Newcastle University which found that children are still being exposed to the same levels of advertising for such foods, despite Ofcom banning these commercials during programmes aimed at youngsters.

Chartwells partners with Mary’s Meals to launch ethical scheme

19 March 2012

School meals provider Chartwells has teamed up with international charity Mary’s Meals to launch a new ethical initiative.

Providing over 600,000 meals every year to children across the globe, Mary's Meals sets up school feeding projects in some of the world's poorest communities, where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education.