Schools serve up an answer to unwanted prunes and custard
School meals across Sunderland are set to enter the digital era with a new electronic ordering system.
Sunderland City Council oversees and helps to dish up thousands of term-time m e a l s at 5 0 c i ty p r i m a r y schools.
Under new plans approved by council chiefs last week, a digital menu and pre-ordering system will be developed for hundreds of pupils attending the schools.
The service follows consultation and feedback from primary schools where there was an appetite for a new, updated electronic system.
C ou n c i l b o s s e s s ay th e c h a n ge s c ou l d h e l p to i nc re a s e u p t a k e o f h e a l t hy school meals, reduce food waste/costs, boost service efficiency and staff productivity and safeguard children with special dietary needs.
It is also hoped that the s ys te m w i l l i m p rove d ebt m a n a ge m e nt at s c h o o l s through integrated payment systems, improve the retention of current contracts and enhance the chance of winning new ones.
C ou n c i l l o r L ou i s e Fa r - thing, cabinet member for children, learning and skills, outlined the proposals at last Tue s d ay ’s v i r tu a l c ab i n et meeting, which was held via videolink and broadcast on YouTube.
Fo l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n , city leaders agreed to launch a procurement process to
award a contract for the system.
T h e e s t i m at e d c o s t i s
£250,000 over a five-year period, which represents the costs of annual licence fees
based on 50 schools electing to have the service.
The council and schools would share the initial costs of the service before it moved to annual licensing fees.
Cllr Dr Geoff Walker, cabinet member for Healthy City, welcomed the scheme.
“It’s very very important in these difficult times with g ro s s h e a l t h i n e qu a l i t i e s across the city, that our young people are given a better start in life and this fits in very well with that overall strategy,” he said.
Deputy council leader, Cllr Paul Stewart, added: “I think most of us will remember our childhoods when we were last in the queue for school dinners and we were left with the prunes and custard that nobody else wanted.
“This scheme will ensure that pupils will get the meal that they want while ensuring that it is a healthy meal.”