School Meals
Thurrock Catering Services is the in-house catering provider within Thurrock Borough Council. They are committed to providing the highest standards of food quality and service, and in achieving this, parents can be assured that:
- All menus comply with and usually exceed, the Government's National Nutritional Standards for school lunches.
- Their menus are now colour coded to allow schools to adopt the "Pupils Choice" system to guarantee each child their preferred menu choice every time, with over 25% of schools now using this system.
- Their food purchasing contracts control the sourcing of safe ingredients and ensure the necessary delivery and storage methods to maintain the highest levels of food safety.
- They regard your child as a valued customer and serve all children in a friendly and supportive manner, helping them to expand their eating experience with care.
- They do not knowingly use foods containing genetically modified ingredients and avoid using artificial additives and colourings wherever possible.
- They work closely with The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the School Food Trust & the Food for Life Partnership to develop flagship schools in the borough and work towards the Soil Association food sourcing targets.
School catering
Every day more than 15,000 school meals are served in Thurrock. Providing affordable, nutritious meals for local school children.
Over 75% of our food is made using local ingredients, and we use:
- organic and traceable farm-fresh British meat
- 200,000 kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables every year
- fish that is caught from sustainable sources
Thurrock Catering Services' menus are:
- Gold Standard Food for Life award-winning
- seasonal and changed twice a year
They have monthly theme days and run fun cooking events to educate children about healthy eating and cooking.
All key stage 1 (KS1) pupils, including reception children, are entitled to free school meals. Your child could also get free school meals if you are receiving certain benefits.