National School Meals Week closes a success

National School Meals Week (NSMW) took place 13-17 November and hosted a week’s worth of activities celebrating all that is great about school meals.

Run by the Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA), NSMW was sponsored by Kraft Heinz Foodservice. There was be a number of high profile activities taking place, with a mixture of political activity and engagement with school caterers, pupils and parents.

Karen Robinson, a team member of NSMW, ran the equivalent of five marathons in five days during the week, powered only by school meals along the way.

LACA Chair of Events Neil Porter said: “The five Marathons in five days, ‘Powered by School Meals’ project was hugely ambitious and involved an incredible amount of organisation. NSMW team member Karen Robinson committed herself to running two half Marathons a day in all ten LACA regions in England and Wales across the week.”

“It was tremendous to take NSMW on the road and fully engage with the LACA membership around the country and every region deserves terrific credit for the way they worked with the NSMW team to make each individual stage a great success in its own right. To see hundreds of children, parents, teaching staff, catering staff and LACA regional committee members joining Karen for part of her journey was fantastic. The celebration of great school food to ‘Power’ Karen up for her next part of the route was equally rewarding, as it demonstrated to the best possible effect what our industry can do when it pulls together.”

“In every region there were local dignitaries present, with mayors, councillors, MPs, and Welsh Assembly members in attendance (we even had GB athlete Jess Coulson running with Karen in the North West region) celebrating all that is great about today’s school meals.”

“In addition, the Marathons showed how generous LACA members are by collectively donating £5,000 to the Chair’s chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation. LACA Chair Tim Blowers said that he was ‘truly humbled’.”

Outside of the Marathons, there was so much great activity taking place with this year’s ‘Host a School Chef’ restaurants reading like the Michelin Star Guide.

Neil Porter said: "A school chef working with some of the most celebrated chefs in the country is a fantastic vehicle to showcase the skills and capabilities of our caterers.

"There is no doubt that this year’s collection of host restaurants was the best we have ever had, with establishments such as the Ritz London, Alyn Williams at the Westbury in Mayfair, the Chester Grosvenor, The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny, Brasteds in Norfolk and the Box Tree in Ilkley who hosted 2017 School Chef Of The Year (SCOTY) Tracy Healey. There are so many more that are too numerous to mention here; however we thank all those who took part and gave our school chefs such a terrific experience and a special thanks to the Craft Guild of Chefs for their continued support.”

In conclusion Porter said: “There was so much happening at individual school level as well, with themed lunches, competitions, National Roast Dinner Day from the Soil Association and pupils, staff and parents wholeheartedly embracing all that is great in education catering. 2018 is the LACA NSMW Silver Jubilee and we have certainly set ourselves a challenge in terms of bettering LACA NSMW2017; however as we have shown this year, whatever the challenge LACA NSMW will rise to it”