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David Foad: Tell us about your catering experience

Judith Gregory: Prior to school meals I was a catering manager for Marks & Spencer and then moved into higher education working with Cardiff University and then University of South Wales with roles covering catering, conferencing, and accommodation.

The M&S experience gave me a good grounding in a frontline service role, while at the universities I learnt about catering for students, and coping with lots of different sites.

In 2005 I started at Cardiff Council as senior client officer just as the Welsh Government started its free breakfast pilot studies in five authorities, one of which was Cardiff. We were the biggest authority involved and on the doorstep for the government, so we became their ‘go-to’ if they had any questions about how things were going.

DF: Describe your current role

JG: I’m now the education catering business manager, the head of school meals for Cardiff Council, responsible for 113 schools. I work with a central catering team of 17 and have responsibility for about 450 catering staff. My role is largely strategic, looking at the design and build of new school kitchens, for instance. I’m immensely proud of the work we did here starting in 2015 to develop our Food & Fun Holiday provision. In 2017 it was adopted and funded by the Welsh Government and rolled out to all schools in Wales.

Other projects include working on the Welsh Government commitment to local produce as part of its universal primary school meal provision. We also have just won funding for a pilot trial of the ‘food hour’, which will give children each day an hour dedicated to food. It will include lunch, of course, plus nutritional education sessions, exploring food, developing recipes, and understanding nutritional content to help them make healthy choices outside of school.

I sit on the Cross-Party Group on School Food in the Senedd as well as the National Steering Group on Special Diets and the National Steering Group on Food & Fun. And I also work with the Welsh Government on its review of the healthy eating in schools regulations.

DF: What are some of the main challenges you face?

JG: For the last two years the main challenge has been the roll out of universal primary free school meals (UPFSM) across Wales. When it was announced in 2021 we had just eight months to be ready to start.

At the time we were coming out of pandemic lockdown, there were shortages of equipment, and the Ukraine crisis also had an impact on the availability of kit and spares. We had a lack of capacity in many school kitchens, as well as buildings with listed status or inner city schools without the space to expand.

Staffing was another issue, and with food we had lack of availability for some items, food price inflation, and the challenge of developing a menu that fewer staff and limited facilities could manage, especially with a shortage of fridge and freezer capacity in many schools.

The deadline was the start of this new school year and we made it in June, but it involved upgrade work in 103 kitchens and when I look back now I wonder how we
did it.

DF: When did you join LACA and why?

JG: I joined in 2005 when I started with Cardiff. Sue Eakers, my manager, was strong supporter of LACA, so all senior staff were signed up and we were told we were going to the annual conference. It turned out she had made an awards submission for the marketing award that year, which we won, so that was a lovely start and I’ve been to every conference since.

DF: What positions have you held within LACA?

JG: I was co-opted onto the Wales Region committee in 2014 and then elected as treasurer in 2015 before becoming Chair of LACA Wales in 2017. The region is different because only two of our 22 local authorities have a contracted-out service, so there is a strong relationship between the remaining 20 and all the Welsh members always get together at conferences.

We’re also lucky in that the Welsh committee has nine members who are longstanding and this provides real stability and we have also developed really good relationships with the Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association.

DF: How do you feel about taking on the role of LACA Chair?

JG: I want to do some work on building relationships. We’ve got a new UK Government and the limited contact I’ve had with them has been more positive, they want to be more collaborative. I’m looking forward to it, it’s a huge responsibility but I’m not feeling daunted because I think I’ve had a good grounding

DF: Tell us about what you plan to focus on as Chair in the year ahead?

JG: The most important thing is to continue with work on funding in England, to put more pressure on the DfE. I’m not sure if there’s much if anything they can do immediately, but I think what’s important is to continue to raise the profile of LACA.

DF: The new Labour Government is committed to rolling out a school breakfast programme in England. What are your thoughts?

JG: I would recommend a pilot within the different scenarios they have in England - with a contractor, a local authority, a standalone school, and a multi-academy trust (MAT). In terms of infrastructure, you need enough dining space. You can have sittings at lunchtime, but not at breakfast because there’s not enough time. Staffing concerns need to be addressed too.

DF: Are you looking forward to the year ahead?

JG: Yes, I’m very much looking forward to all the events the chair gets invited to. I like meeting people and talking to them, so the ‘view from the bridge’ when I get to go round all the regions, will be a great opportunity to meet all those important frontline staff.