Catering team serving Doncaster schools scoops top honours

The team provides around 20,000 meals a day for 104 primary, secondary and special schools across the borough.

The Food for Life Served Here silver award from the Soil Association is given to schools who demonstrate they are providing healthy school meals and food education that has a positive impact on both pupils and the wider community.

It is intended to show that fresh, additive free, good quality, animal friendly food is always on the menu.

Doncaster Council’s Regeneration and Environment director, Peter Dale, said: “Congratulations to our schools catering team on winning this prestigious award for the second year running.

“They all work so hard to ensure school children in the borough are able to eat healthy and nutritious meals at school.”

Bosses at the schools catering team say they believe they offer an exciting choice of healthy, fresh food at excellent value.

A spokesman said: “We believe that school meals represent the best option in terms of contributing to a healthy diet and value for money, when compared to other sources of food available to children for their mid day meal, i.e. packed lunches.

“All our menus comply with current food and nutritional standards.”

As well as offering a choice of meals each day in most schools, some schools have a ‘family service’ where two pupils serve their table with food.

The service also provides special menus for children from different ethnic groups and where youngsters need to follow a special diet as recommended by a doctor or hospital, they make suitable arrangements.

Taster sessions are held in schools to introduce pupils to new dishes. The service also provides classroom support with nutritional talks and food sampling.