30 April 2009
With the credit crunch taking its toll on families throughout the country, we are all looking for ways to maintain a healthy balanced diet without reducing the quality of the food we serve. Caerphilly Catering Services is committed to doing just this for all children taking school meals in the county borough.
In April a new improved schools menu will be introduced to secondary school children to encourage them to eat wholesome meals instead of snacking on unhealthy options like chips. This is part of a drive to assist parents in encouraging their children to eat well-balanced, nutritious meals.
"Providing excellent quality, locally sourced food for children embraces the council's core aims of promoting local food and developing healthy eating and lifestyles amongst its communities" said Cllr Phil Bevan.
Early this year Caerphilly Catering launched the 'Money for Meals' competition for schools. The idea is to increase the number of pupils having school dinners, to win their school £1000. The winning school will be announced in the near future.
Caerphilly Catering Service have excellent performance monitoring systems in place to ensure stringent quality standards are met and all school cooks are trained to NVQ 2 level - Professional Cookery Award. The service is committed to sourcing the best local ingredients, and works closely with local growers and suppliers to ensure they meet the council's stringent specifications and high standards of quality required for food safety.
Caerphilly Catering uses only free-range eggs and the cod used in school meals is sourced from recognised sustainable fisheries. The service is proud to support the Wales Assembly Government's 'Appetite for Life' guidance and have won accolades for their award winning interactive website aimed at primary school children, where the focus is about learning about healthy eating in an appealing and creative manner through educational games and quizzes. As well as sending out good messages to children, the site also provides important and useful information to parents.
Students aged 11-16 can access the bespoke 'You Go 4 it' website. Here the forthcoming Olympics is high on the agenda with role models Lucy Boggis and Leon Taylor talking about the importance of good nutrition and eating the right foods to maintain good health.
Visit www.myschoollunch.co.uk and www.yougo4it.co.uk for firther information.
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