Sheffield school brings catering in-house in effort to offer free hot meals to all pupils

St Patrick’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, in Sheffield Lane Top, implemented the in-house catering model as pupils returned this month after witnessing just how much some families had been struggling financially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rather than let the profit of school meals go to an external company, the school said the new model allows them to plough money back into providing nutritious and healthy food for every child and helps to alleviate some of the pressures felt by parents and carers.

The aim is to continue running the model after the crisis has ended and expand the service to benefit the community.

Business manager and clerk to the school governors, Kathryn Fox, said: “We had decided last year that we were going to bring the catering in-house for lots of various reasons.

"We wanted to do meals for the community and the parish. I had a conversation with the headteacher and governors and know that lots of families are struggling, whether they’d been furloughed or lost their jobs, and things cost a lot of money so I knew it would be good for us to offer it to everyone.

"Key Stage 1 and Foundation Stage already had it through the Universal infant free school meals, and there is the income-based one, but we just thought that for those that have to pay for it it would really help.

"Parents who were worried about finances have told us its just one less thing for them to be worrying about.”

Under the new model, the school can source its own produce and is currently planning to use small family-run firms in an effort to boost the local economy.

“We’ve been able to provide a hot meal for quite a lot of children, we’ve gone from an uptake from 160 children to 240,” said headteacher Sharon Mckeown.

"We've had to take on extra lunchtime staff and it’s so well organised. We’re all working for the same aim, just to make sure these children get a hot meal and I’m absolutely delighted. We’ve also had school visitors say they can't believe the difference in the taste and the quality of the food.”

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