The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Call to ditch frozen school meals plan
Pressure is mounting for Perth and Kinross Council to ditch plans to introduce frozen school dinners, as approved in the summer.
The Scottish Greens are calling for the council to “abandon” supplier Tayside Contracts after a series of complaints about the quality of school meals it provides.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Mark Ruskell urged the local authority to rethink its approach, saying the firm “clearly aren’t able to deliver”.
Instead he suggests the council considers the Food for Life scheme, which already operates in local authorities throughout Scotland and uses locally produced ingredients.
His call comes just days after Deputy First Minister John Swinney expressed his concerns over the quality of meals produced by the company.
Mr Swinney, MSP for
Perthshire North, said he has received feedback directly from parents which raise “legitimate questions” over the quality of food.
Some angry parents said meals given to schoolchildren from Tayside Contracts looked “disgusting” after photos of meals served to one child in a Dundee primary school were revealed.
GMB union rep Stephanie Smith claimed catering staff in Dundee and Angus have “no choice” but to serve meals, regardless of their quality.
However, Perth and Kinross Council agreed on June 23 to join Tayside Contract’s Tay Cuisine model for providing school meals, already in use in Dundee and Angus.
The model mass produces meals, freezes and reheats them, with some travelling miles while warm. It will be introduced in Perthshire schools from January next year.
Mr Ruskell said: “Perthshire produces some of the best quality food in the UK, so why are our schools serving meals that pupils and parents clearly find so unappetising?”
His alternative suggestion, the Food for Life scheme, supports schools in delivering dinners sourced from local ingredients while also helping children understand more about food production and growing.
Mr Ruskell continued: “The Food for Life scheme, which the Greens secured extra support for in budget negotiations, is there to help councils source fresh local food for schools which tastes good and helps children connect with where their food comes from.
“It’s quite clear that Perth and Kinross Council has used the rollout of free school meals to all primary children to justify a shift to poorer quality mass produced meals.
“This utterly misses the point, because free school meals are about giving every child access to a high quality meal, while developing good eating habits and a healthy food culture around cooking, eating and developing new menu choices.
“Tayside Contracts clearly aren’t able to deliver that so while we get ready to roll out free school meals to all primary-aged children, I urge Perth and Kinross Council to listen to the pupils and parents and look at again at alternatives.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesman said: “The meals meet the national nutritional standards and most produce is sourced through the Scottish Government’s national procurement programme. This includes produce from local dairies and bakeries.”
A spokeswoman for Tayside Contracts said: “The number of complaints we receive about the quality of our meals is minimal. Our latest survey showed a high level of customer satisfaction.”