To combat this, at Innovate we believe that a new approach to school catering must be adopted by business managers, head teachers and those involved in the decision making process. It is not about thinking solely about the food offering in isolation but addressing a number of issues.
We work in partnership with schools, school business managers, staff, parents and of course the students themselves to design a catering offering that engenders buy-in; we involve the ultimate customer – the student – to ensure a service is created that appeals to their needs.
There has to be a greater level of menu choices and improved availability. It has got to look appetising and offer variety, whilst meeting nutritional guidelines.
Efficient systems need to be in place; the flow of getting students in, providing an opportunity to browse the menu choices available, either self-serve or have a plated meal provided, and then pay within the allotted breaktime needs to be carefully devised.
The environment itself is key: school canteens often appear drab and old-fashioned to teens. It therefore needs to be modernised to attract students back to school catering and their involvement in this is vital.
By adopting a new approach, you may be surprised by the outcomes. We are seeing uptake typically double at the schools we are operating and it comes down to challenging convention and offering the industry a completely new way thinking.
