Manchester creams competition in school meal survey

Manchester Fayre, the in-house school meal provider for Manchester City Council is savouring success after its impressive results in a nationwide survey by the School Food Trust.

The survey, which was published on July 9, recorded the number of children eating school meals during the recently completed academic year (2008/9).

Nationally, the take-up figures for school meals in primary schools was 39.3% and 35.1% in secondary schools.

But, Manchester Fayre put the bite on the competition, reporting take-up figures in Manchester that were 15% higher than the national number for primary schools and 18% higher than the national number for secondary schools. Manchester Fayre also had the highest take-up figures in the whole of the north west.

Last year Manchester Fayre launched its new school-dining concept 'Fresh Fayre' - which won the education category of the 2009 Cost Sector Catering Awards - to offer pupils freshly prepared healthy meals and a self-service facility. The menus and choices were designed in conjunction with parents, pupils and schools so that there was consistent and long-term approach to wholesome dishes.

Councillor Bernard Priest, Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources at Manchester City Council, said: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating - and in this case it's Manchester's schoolchildren who have shown that they are more than happy to eat high quality Fresh Fayre food."

Steve Southern, Head of Catering Services at Manchester City Council, added: "These figures show how successful Manchester Fayre has been in providing appealing and nutritionally-balanced meals to children in our city. The results are testament to the Manchester Fayre team adopting an inclusive approach by involving the whole school and parents in dining decisions. The challenge for the coming year is to build on these take-up levels by further developing menus and our services."