Case study image
Arrow right

Caterlink reduce food waste in school kitchens

Education catering specialists, Caterlink are working with one of their primary school sites as a pilot in Cambridgeshire to reduce the amount of food left over at the counter after lunch time service.

By looking at baseline waste values at Isle of Ely Primary School, they have set out key areas to work on that will result in less food going in the bin, with a view to roll this out across the business.

The school has reported relatively low levels of food waste after lunch service, so identifying how to reduce it even further has been tricky.

After several weigh-ins, the Cool Food Pro calculator shows an average of around 1.5kg main meal food waste, which was surplus to service.

The catering team now want to take a more in depth look at this amount by assessing the portion sizes given at lunchtimes to judge whether the site is over producing and to ensure correct recipe sheets are being used. Additionally, they’re keen to look at the site production and wastages sheets, to cross reference any food waste at end of service. Once this is done, they can then troubleshoot any findings and use Cool Food Pro resources and the Co2 calculator to take the project further by looking at food waste in the dining hall with the school.

After entering baseline data into the Cool Food Pro calculator, the school reduced cooked surplus food by 64% in December which equates to 3g of waste saved per pupil, and Co2e savings of 1.43kg, the equivalent of 827km travelled by high speed train.

The Cool Food Pro tool is very user friendly and easy to use. We have started inputting our data to the system, and we’re excited to see what impact our changes will make.

Alice Brealy - Education & Compliance Nutritionist and Hannah White - Compliance Manager
Caterlink - Isle of Ely Primary School Cambridgeshire

More case studies

Third image
Brooke Primary School joins Cool Food Pro to increase awareness on the food waste reduction in their dining hall.
Icon
Food waste

Brooke Primary School’s catering is independently managed by the school’s principal chef, which, with the support of the staff and the Cool Food Pro Calculator, is working on their environmentally friendly journey by implementing meat-free Mondays and tackling food waste from the dining hall.

Arrow right
Third image
Gather and Gather staff restaurant puts sustainability on the menu
Icon
Less and better meat

The staff restaurant at Whitman Laboratories has put sustainability on the menu by reducing meat and increasing vegetables and pulses in their popular meat-based meals. The contract caterer, Gather and Gather, already offer a daily plant-based option, but they wanted to take further steps to reduce their carbon impact, and contribute to better health for the planet, and for their customers.

Arrow right
Third image
Littleport Community Primary School joins Cool Food Pro to reduce food waste in their dining hall.
Icon
Reduce Food Waste

Littleport Community Primary’s menus are managed by Norse Catering who are dedicated to reducing plate waste through actions applied to mains and sides. All while continuing to provide a great lunchtime service to approximately 200 students a day

Arrow right


Find out how to get involved

Becoming a Cool Food Pro member is free. By signing up you will not only be reducing the environmental impact of food production, but helping your business run more efficiently. Share your achievements with your customers with specially tailored communications materials which are all free to download.