LACA uses Olympic link to win over secondary schools
National School Meals Week, to be held on 3-10 November, will this year have a sporting theme through a link-up with the British Olympic Appeal (BOA)
Delegates at last week's Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) conference at the Stratford Moat House were told by organiser Arnold Fewell that if everyone got behind the promotion with fund-raising events at school level, it should be possible to raise £100,000.
If this sum is achieved, it is hoped £15,000 will go the BOA, which is raising funds to help send athletes to next year's Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA. The rest will cover the costs of staging National School Meals Week.
LACA chairman Pat Fellows said the Olympic connection would help bring more interest from secondary schools, where the cuddly image of Deano, the dinosaur mascot of National School Meals Week, is viewed as being for younger children.
Mrs Fellows added: "The Olympians of the next century are our customers; we are feeding them now."
While the average price of a school meal in the UK is about £1.25, in Belgium it can be as much as £4 for a three-course lunch, delegates heard.
Peter Quirk, assistant county catering manager for Suffolk County Catering, who made a study trip to Bruges to compare school meals in the two countries, described how, in order to offset that cost, some students worked in the school kitchen, entitling them to a free meal and reducing labour costs for the operator.
While food quality reflected the higher prices, hygiene and business practices appeared to be well below those in British schools, he added. And those choosing to bring their own packed lunch to school were charged 70p for the privilege of sitting in the dining room.