Issue - meetings

Motion by Councillor Laidlaw - Preparation of School Meals

“Committee

Notes that across the school estate there is a split between schools that produce their meals in on-site production kitchens and those with ‘dining centres’ that rely on re-heating facilities for meals produced in other schools.

Recognises that despite the best-efforts of catering staff, food served in dining centres can fall short of the quality standards of that produced on-site and that this is exacerbated by longer journeys.

Acknowledges that the ambition would be to have production facilities in all schools but that current resources do not allow for that ambition to be fulfilled in the short-term.

Notes that Scottish Government has committed to offering free school meals to all children in primaries one to five from January 2022 and recognises the additional pressure this puts on kitchens and dining centres.

Supports officers in their efforts to secure additional Scottish Government funding to help grow the number of production kitchens.

Asks officers to review the current relationships between Production Kitchens and Dining Centres with the aim to reduce the journey times and prepare food as close to the destination as possible, and to look to optimise menus for food items that both ‘travel’ well and appeal to young diners.”