Cardiff Council wants to hear from parents of primary school children who do not always choose to have school meals.
Cardiff Catering, the Council’s in-house education catering service which provides approximately 33,000 meals a day at over 140 locations across the city, is conducting an online survey to encourage feedback from parents. The information gathered will help to further improve the service and communications that the caterers and schools provide to pupils and their families.
The online survey should take less than ten minutes to complete, and parents are given the chance to win one year’s worth of school dinners for one child, between September 2012 and July 2013. Six prizes, each worth £350, are available. The deadline for taking part in the survey is 31 July 2012. Winners will be notified before 31 August 2012.
Cardiff Catering has already undertaken a number of popular initiatives to encourage families to choose school meals more often including:
o Even healthier food and drink standards – since November 2011 the Primary School Menu has been compliant with Welsh Government Appetite for Life Food and Drink Standards, ahead of legislation in September 2012.
o Tasters and Theme Days – a different theme or taster is promoted on the Primary School Menu every half term.
o Photos of Menu Dishes – Primary Menu Cards are displayed in the dining hall daily to encourage children to choose a balanced meal.
In 2011, Cardiff Catering carried out a pilot survey of 217 parents of primary school children and discovered that 64% of parents make the decision whether their child has school meals or not.
Sue Eakers, Wellbeing and Compliance Manager for Cardiff schools said: “We are always looking for ways to improve our service by delivering an even better product to our customers. We provide well balanced menus that meet the Welsh Government’s Nutritional Guidelines. By choosing a school meal you can be sure that you are making the best choice for your child’s health, and we are keen to learn from parents about the choices they make regarding school dinners.”
The current survey and more information can be found in English and Welsh at the following websites:
www.surveys.cardiff.gov.uk/schoolmeals2012
www.surveys.cardiff.gov.uk/schoolmeals2012/cymraeg
Anyone with questions or comments about the survey should speak to their School Cook or email [email protected]
