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The event covered a range of topics, from funding disparities to addressing climate change, free school meal trials, promoting British produce, and using social media better.

LACA National Chair’s Anita Brown kicked off the event with an update on LACA’s ongoing initiatives. She emphasised the continuation of the “If Not Now, When?” campaign, focusing on prioritising and addressing regional funding disparities.

She also shed light on the stark contrast in meal funding across the UK, with caterers in Scotland receiving £3.30 per meal, Wales £2.90, Northern Ireland £2.60, and England lagging behind at £2.53. She said the campaign would continue to push for this gap to be bridged and to ensure that Free School Meals and Universal Infant Free School Meals funding kept pace with inflation.

Anita also highlighted the challenges faced by the industry, including supply chain issues and shortages, which had already led to providers having to raise school meal prices, in one case by as much as £1. And she underlined the struggle with recruitment, which was a persistent issue, making it clear that adequate funding was essential for maintaining the quality of school meals.

'Catering for Climate Change: What’s the Goal and How to Get There?' was a presentation by Professor Angela Tregear from the University of Edinburgh Business School. She delved into the pressing issue of climate change and its implications for school catering. She introduced the Meal Analyser tool, which is designed to measure carbon emissions in school catering services.

She stressed the urgency of addressing emissions, citing the call by environment experts for a two-thirds reduction by 2050 to prevent the planet warming by more than 1.5-degrees Celsius, which was considered a climate tipping point.

Tregear presented findings from the analysis of 19 UK school catering services, revealing an average carbon emission of 3.2kg per 1kg of food served – which was three times the target figure.

She proposed key changes, including switching food waste disposal methods, altering recipes to include more plant-based ingredients, and encouraging students to choose lower-carbon dishes. She said the potential impact of these changes could lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions and pave the way for more ambitious targets by 2030.

The launch of the School Chef of the Year competition for 2024 was announced, with insights from the 2023 winner, Raheem Morgan. After winning at the fourth time of trying, he emphasised the importance of perseverance and shared some of the valuable experience gained from competing, including the camaraderie and friendships he gained from competing against and sharing ideas with others.

The final for the 2024 event is scheduled for July 3-4 at the LACA Main Event, promising yet again an exciting showcase of culinary talent and innovation in school catering.

Meanwhile, Derek Wright, Blackpool Catering Service manager, discussed efforts to promote the use of British produce that were happening as a result of the formation of the Love British Food education working group. He said the group had been busy engaging with farmers, wholesalers, and schools, and he emphasised the nutritional benefits of locally-sourced ingredients.

Wright said that the Government needed to support British farmers and address funding challenges faced by cash-strapped schools, and stressed the importance of prioritising high welfare UK produce over imported alternatives.

Dr. Jonathan Bone from Nesta, the UK’s innovation charity, shared insights from a trial aimed at increasing free school meal uptake in Wales. The trial involved auto-enrolment for a month, resulting in a 6%-7% increase in uptake.

He said it was important to address parental concerns about children’s pickiness and special diets and he said the trial had shown the potential impact on meal uptake of activities such as taster sessions and information for parents on meal quality.

Gail Walker from Open Door PR discussed the success of LACA’s social media strategy, revealing a 26% increase in followers since taking over. Targeted campaigns for specific events, such as The Main Event and School Chef of the Year, had contributed to significant jumps in followers. She said social media was helping LACA reach a wider audience and foster engagement within the school catering community.

Luke Consiglio, managing director of The Pantry Catering, shared the inspiring business tale of the company he started as a small sandwich shop which had become an £18m turnover business servicing 140 schools. Despite the many challenges thrown up, he said that providing children with best possible meals made it the ‘best job’ he could ever have.