Catering

The Trust delivers a range of catering services to schools across different phases, providing cost-effective, freshly made, healthy meals for pupils and staff, through efficient and high-quality in-house or delivered catering.

We can help schools review and develop their catering provision and achieve real improvements in food quality, increased income and reduced costs.

Please see below for a copy of our latest market report.

Catering at primary schools

The food children eat in school is very important to their education. Not only does a well-balanced diet help with general health, but establishing healthy eating habits at a young age can set them on the right path for the future. We understand primary school children and their likes and dislikes, so we tailor our menus to encourage maximum uptake.

Catering at secondary schools

Our menus are nutritionally balanced, full of flavour and tailored to suit each school. They not only meet, but exceed, government guidelines. Whether it is lunches for students and staff, or refreshments for school events or for teachers at parents' evenings, we have many fresh ideas. Whatever the requirements, we are able to offer a service to suit.

Healthy eating

Food fuels the brain. Eating a well-balanced diet helps with physical fitness and general good health, both in body and mind. A well-balanced diet means getting the right nutrients your body needs – protein helps with repair and growth, carbohydrates and healthy fats provide energy, water replaces lost fluids and fibre and the right vitamins support healthy body maintenance. By getting into the habit of eating healthily, the risk of serious health problems can be avoided in the future. The Greenshaw Learning Trust Catering's commitment to providing exceptional quality food, made almost entirely from fresh ingredients, means students receive the right balance of nutrients to help concentration – from healthy, hearty breakfasts to a diverse selection of hot and cold lunches and suppers. Our hospitality offering can add a touch of restaurant flair to celebratory events or governors' suppers.

The increased focus on health and nutrition in maintained education – through the school food standards, with which school menus are compliant – means that independent schools under our Trust services will be expected to deliver a higher standard of nutritionally-rich catering for demanding students and parents.

Healthy eating is at the very heart of our approach to food. We wholeheartedly encourage balanced eating patterns within all our schools and investment in training and our policy of purchasing seasonal produce enables us to deliver exceptional value.

We have implemented different menus and policies throughout our schools which sets out our expectations and minimum requirements to meet the daily nutritional needs of the students and staff for whom we cater. We are proud that one of our schools been awarded the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark, which means as part of Trust services our methods have been independently audited and have proven to be of exceptional quality.

We are proud of our food heritage which demonstrates our commitment to traceability of the meals we serve. Our meat main meals are freshly prepared on site and made with Red Tractor/Farm Assured fresh meat, whilst our suppliers are audited by an external body to ensure they comply with our and statutory obligations.

We are committed to using sourcing ingredients with assured provenance from local and regional suppliers in every kitchen we work in. We use produce with high standards of animal welfare – for example, RSPCA Freedom Food Free Range Eggs, Marine Stewardship Approved (MSC) fish and Fair Trade bananas.

Award winning catering

Luis De Abreu is head of catering at the Greenshaw Learning Trust and he was awarded Self Managed Secondary School Caterer of the Year at the EDUcatering Awards 2016. Luis has changed the way the trust trains its staff and has improved its internal processes, adapting a new style of thinking about the food and the service it provides. The catering service is now seen as an integral part of the school and trust offering. He has revamped students’ dining experience by  introducing a number of separate service areas to ease the flow of traffic and speed up service time.

For more information, please contact Luis De Abreu, Head of Catering at ldeabreu@greenshaw.co.uk.