Chartwells caters for 57 Welsh schools

28 October 2010

In a drive to improve school meals across the city, Newport City Council has awarded a new contract to deliver school catering to Chartwells

Consultation on the current service and an examination of what pupils, parents, school staff and other interested parties wanted to see in the future school meals provision was carried out earlier this year and, based on that feedback and the guidance from the Welsh Assembly’s Appetite for Life action plan, a new contract was offered for tender. Following this competitive tender process, Chartwells was awarded the six year contract, worth £21m, which will see the caterer working with 57 schools from April 2011.
Councillor David Atwell, cabinet member for young people’s services, said: “It is essential that we provide meals that are healthy, offer choice and are affordable. A balanced diet is essential for our children and young people if they are to develop and grow into healthy adults and links between diet and academic achievements have been made.This new contract will ensure that we meet the principles of Appetite for Life2and put the needs of our pupils first.”
Tony Byrne, Managing Director of Chartwells, added, “We are delighted to form a partnership with Newport and to work together to consolidate the seven key areas of Appetite for Life. Chartwells has a team of chefs and nutritionists who are dedicated to developing menus which not only are compliant with the Government’s food and nutrient based standards but which also feature children’s favourite dishes to ensure that our nutritious and balanced meals are tempting to school pupils of all ages.With our expertise and experience in catering for school children around the UK and Ireland, we will bring an underlying stability and consistency of service and quality to all of the primary and secondary schools within this contract.”