Standards bearer

Formed 11 years ago, the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA), with its 800 members in more than 115 local authorities, has become one of the most influential bodies in formulating the new Nutritional Standards in schools, which came into force last April.

The association's members are responsible for serving nearly three million school lunches daily in 22,000 schools. Its associate members number more than 200 suppliers, providing £260m-worth of food and equipment to the school catering service.

"LACA is an influential force within the industry and a focus for both Government and media," says current chairman Beverley Baker. "It is still evolving and growing so we mustn't get complacent, but the association is now seen as the only organisation representing school catering."

As a consultative body for the Government the association was able to temper the original proposals on the Nutritional Standards, making them operational and more reasonable. Pat Fellows, LACA consultant and founder member, worked on the consultative document.

"What the Government initially proposed was frightening and extreme," she says. "They wanted to do things like limiting chips to twice a week, but we'd have lost most of the children. The guidelines were also based on nutritional groups, and we persuaded them that food groups such as starchy foods, fruit and vegetables would make it more practical and fairer and encourage children to choose for themselves."

Following the consultative document, the Government formed a working advisory group that included Fellows and past LACA chairman Ian Wasson. At the same time the education and employment select committee decided to hold an inquiry into school meals. It is a sign of LACA's weight that Fellows, Baker and Wasson were invited to give evidence.

The founding of LACA in 1991 was timely, because Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) had just been introduced and schools were suddenly faced with the hard edge of competition, demanding greater professionalism and accountability from them.

"CCT made the service more efficient, but we're always faced with the dilemma of whether we're a service or a business. It's difficult to marry the two," says Fellows. "School caterers have a responsibility to help educate the child, but we feed them on only 190 out of 1,000 eating occasions, so it's not fair to leave it all to us. It's parents' responsibility too, but many don't want to cook or learn about food."

Now, as then, LACA gives school caterers a focus and opportunities for networking and cross-fertilisation. Incoming chairman Sue Kilbey, head of services at Somerset County Council, is keen to increase these opportunities.

"Networking is why many people join LACA, to share problems and exchange advice. I want to strengthen the regions and make sure we're a grass-roots organisation. There's a lot of experience and good professionals out there and we need to listen to them," she states.

She also wants to keep an eye on the recent move delegating budgets within schools: "Schools want the most money they can get back from their catering, and this can have a detrimental effect. We don't want standards to spiral downwards; we want standards to be acceptable."

About LACA

Before the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) was formed in 1990, the only body representing school catering was the National Association of School Meals Organisers (NASMO) administered by the HCIMA. In the late 1980s the HCIMA decided to end its association with NASMO, and LACA was formed. It started as a marketing organisation and has developed to encompass all aspects of local authority catering. It has a membership of 800 catering managers working in all sectors of more than 115 local authorities in the UK. This covers meals on wheels and civic functions, but school meals form 80%, making local authorities the country's largest provider of school catering.

The association's aims are to:

• Inform, develop, represent and support its members through a range of initiatives and specialist services. This includes issuing the latest information on Government legislation and policies affecting local authorities.
• Provide resources and services to help members realise their potential skills through LACA training and awards schemes.
• Foster strong links with the Government, its agencies and other influential bodies.
• Support members by involving them in a network of nine regional divisions, thus creating opportunities for briefings and an exchange of views.

LACA's annual conference will be held this year at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, on 4-5 July. The theme is "Inspiration for innovation" and speakers will include Richard Seymour, presenter of the Channel 4 series, Better by Design, and Marcia Smith, president of the American School Food Association, LACA's US counterpart.

School meals - a history

School meals have come a long way since they were first provided by the Manchester local authority in 1879. Almost a hundred years later, with the 1980 Education Act abolishing Nutritional Standards and the fixed price for a school meal, caterers had the freedom to provide whatever service they felt appropriate and to set their own tariffs.

Cash cafeterias became widespread, while the fast-food revolution, the advent of foreign holidays and the growth in international food outlets spawned a new generation of pupils with discerning tastes. This, combined with the rise in multiracial pupil populations, increased awareness of diet-related illnesses and the growth in vegetarianism, meant school caterers faced new challenges.

The 1990s saw high-street names becoming popular, and many schools began experimenting with foodcourts, branding and innovative merchandising to appeal to the fast-living image-conscious teenagers.

Over this period "dinner ladies" evolved into a team of professional, highly qualified and experienced caterers. LACA supported this professionalism by establishing a unique code of practice among school caterers and launching National School Meals Week and the National School Chef of the Year award 10 years ago.

National School Meals Week has grown in importance and is now endorsed by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills as an integral part of the national drive to protect the future health of the next generation. This year it was supported by Olympic decathlete Dean Macey.

The focus was on healthy eating and the need for more physical activity among children. It included a food-is-fun Web site, "Click to Get Fit". Menus were devised to link the week's theme of sport, exercise, fruit and vegetables through dishes such as Go Fasta Pasta, Hot Shot Hot Pot and Banana Javelin Splits.

LACA's School Cook of the Year title was introduced to reward culinary expertise. "Those who think burgers and chips were the full extent of a school cook's repertoire should think again," says Beverley Baker, a LACA founder member and head of Surrey Commercial Services. "Dishes like pork and apricot roulade with rice timbale and a medley of roasted vegetables; and bacon, pepper and pasta with wholemeal crumb and cheese topping, red onion and poppy seed stars are just two of the winning entries in this competition and are regular favourites at the winners' schools.

"Given that all the dishes had to be produced within a budget of no more than 60p on the plate, they might even challenge the skills of some restaurant chefs."

In 1997, as part of the constant battle to persuade pupils to eat a balanced diet, LACA introduced the annual "Mark of Distinction" awards scheme for schools, which rewards healthy-eating initiatives that are based on a whole-school approach involving teachers, caterers and pupils.

LACA

Tel: 01483 766777
E-mail: admin@laca.co.uk
Web site: www.laca.co.uk
Conference enquiries: Jo Reeves 01474 574438