School meal deal grows with the Harris Federation academies

15 October 2009

Sodexo has secured four further contracts with the Harris Federation, and retained three others to provide over 7,500 secondary school pupils and staff with catering services.

The three-year contract, worth in excess of £4.5m in total turnover, will provide school meals to seven of the Harris Federation’s academies in South London, with the remaining two academies joining the contract in the future. The contract started in September and employs 70 members of staff.
The Harris Federation aims to operate as a group of collaborating academies for the benefit of young people in South London. Sodexo provides services to Harris City Academy Crystal Palace, Harris Academy Merton, Harris Academy South Norwood, Harris Academy Peckham, Harris Academy Bermondsey, Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich and Harris Academy Purley.
Sodexo has been providing services to the Harris Federation since 1997 when it first worked with Harris City Academy Crystal Palace. Sodexo has also acquired a cleaning contract for the South Norwood location.
All meals provided at the academies meet the Government’s new 14 key nutrient-based standards. Despite the Government’s deadline of September this year, Sodexo was already fully compliant with the new guidelines – two years ahead of the deadline. All secondary schools across England must meet the standards.
Sodexo’s ‘For You’ offer, which has been developed especially for secondary schools, will be implemented at all of the schools to reflect the changing food trends within the secondary school age group. Pupils will be provided with a wide choice of dishes on the lunchtime menus, the flexibility to ‘grab-and-go’, breakfast clubs and mid-morning breaks. These are freshly prepared on site by Sodexo’s catering staff.
Jane Bristow, managing director, Sodexo Education, said: “We are delighted to have secured this contract with the Harris Federation. We look forward to providing the pupils at all of the academies with tasty, fresh dishes that they want and can enjoy, which meet the Government’s nutritional guidelines. This is an exciting time for the Federation and we are very happy to be a part of their development”.
Mike Antoniou, director of finance and operational development at the Harris Federation, said: “At the Harris Federation, we aim to benefit young people in South London by providing them with an excellent standard of education. In addition to this we understand the importance of a healthy and balanced lifestyle, which is why we are delighted to be working alongside Sodexo to provide our pupils with tasty, healthy and nutritious food.”