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School dinner firm axed after parents complain
Lack of fresh fruit and veg costs catering company its contract
CONTROVERSIAL school dinner provider Scolarest has been dumped in favour of a new company.
It follows a catalogue of negative feedback from parents and teachers about the international catering giant.
Cater Link will take over the lucrative Islington contract from September for an undisclosed sum and have pledged to include up to 90 per cent fresh produce in their menus.
Scolarest, which is owned by the Compass Group, secured the borough’s school meals service in 2003 and two years later was making £785,370 per annum.
Problems with Scolarest included a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and union complaints over pay and conditions.
In 2004 a dinner lady at the Bridge special school told the Tribune how staff were instructed to give disabled children “small servings”.
Teachers felt so sorry for the children that they brought in biscuits for the hungry youngsters.
At William Tyndale primary, all 160 dinners were prepared and cooked at another school, Moreland, some two miles and a 15-minute journey away.
In 2005, schools chiefs enforced a strict set of guidelines on Scolarest, including making sure 87 per cent of meals were cooked on-site and at least one fresh vegetable available each day for primary school pupils.
That year, 748,699 dinners were served to 70 schools, costing Islington £2,910,445. The cost per meal was £1.30, with Scolarest spending 47p in primary schools.
From this September, schools chiefs say dinners in the borough’s schools will have a “makeover”.
As part of the bidding process, for the first time parents were consulted.
A report to be presented at the council’s decision-making executive committee on Thursday will recommend Cater Link for a three-year contract.
But Unison, the trade union, whose members provide the service, say they have not been consulted over Cater Link’s hiring.
Town Hall leader James Kempton said: “Parents, pupils and schools told us that school meals needed to improve – and we have really taken on board their views.
“Schools and parents were involved from start to finish in the selection of a new school meals company and they agreed with us that Cater Link would deliver the high standard parents and children want.
“They use locally sourced fresh food to create varied, healthy and enjoyable meals.
“This really is a fresh start for school meals in Islington.”
Cater Link was founded in 1993 and provides school meals for more than 200 schools across the country.
Tony McKenna, who founded the company and continues to run it, said: “We’re delighted to have been chosen to work with Islington Council. The selection process was very thorough, and it was clear to us from the beginning that Islington values quality.”
The evaluation panel, which considered the bids from each of the catering companies, said it was “particularly impressed” with several key features of Cater Link’s proposal, including 90 per cent of all food will be fresh, the menu will be repeated only once every six weeks and menus will vary seasonally.
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