LACA Main Event to put focus on school meals funding
The programme and features planned by organisers for this year’s Main Event will address the disparities in school meals funding across the four nations. The conference sessions will also explore strategies to ensure that all children and young people receive the very best school food to support their growth and learning.
LACA believes that it has never been more important to establish common ground and a collective voice on the importance of school food and the growing pressures operators are facing to provide this vital service.
Neil Porter, LACA business director and chair of the Events Group, said: “I can tell you we are rapidly approaching our key event of the LACA calendar year, which will again be a packed programme of conference, competitions, cooking demos, workshops, awards, plus the School Food Show.
“As well as the usual highly popular features such as Finishing Touches, LACA Live, and a range of free-to-attend workshops, we have the finals of the Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge and the School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) competition final where we see the current title holder Jenny Brown hand over her crown following her success. Whoever is our new SCOTY winner, they can look forward to an exciting year of activities.
“We also have a great line-up of speakers and this year we’re particularly pleased that both Professor Don Bundy and Professor Kevin Morgan, as a double act, will give their respective views on our industry as a region/country and globally.
“And we will welcome back both Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, who will not only be giving us an update on their School Learning Tool but visiting us in their new capacity as LACA ambassadors, something which we are absolutely delighted about.
“Not only that, but the exhibition – now called the School Food Show - will provide you with all the insights into new software, new meal concepts and food innovation as well as new technology in kitchen equipment that can help take us forward to meet our waste, sustainability, reduced carbon strategies.
“I believe that if you work in the school meals sector anywhere in the UK this is an event you simply cannot afford to miss, and I look forward to seeing you there.”
If you would like to attend the LACA Main Event as a delegate, or book a free ticket to the School Food Show that runs alongside the Main Event, visit: www.lacamainevernt.co.uk.