Food for Life Served Here
Would you like to sign your child up for our award-winning school lunches prepared by Bury Catering? Get in touch with your school for more information.
We're excited to let you know that our school lunches are award winning!
Bury Catering have been awarded the Bronze Food for Life Served Here Award by the Soil Association. This award, from the UK's leading food and farming charity recognises our dedication to providing students with lunches that reach, and go beyond, the national School Food Standards. In short, sugary snacks and fizzy drinks are out and fresh fruit and vegetables are in.
This prestigious certification from the UK's leading food and farming charity recognises our dedication to providing school meals that are not only delicious, but are good for your children's health, nature and the climate. It cements our commitment to serving food that adheres to the national School Food Standards (nutritional guidelines), making healthy eating easy for your children.
- Meat and eggs are all sourced from the UK, from good animal welfare systems, fish is not endangered, and all our meat and eggs can be traced back to the farm. We only source from farmers who champion animal welfare
- The ingredients we use are completely free from nasty additives, trans fats and GMOs. As well as all this, our menus are inclusive of cultural and dietary needs
- We understand that every child has unique requirements and it's important to us that everyone is catered for
- By opting to use seasonal ingredients and cooking food from scratch we are lowering carbon emissions and reducing the negative impact of our food on the environment, meaning that our menus are sustainable
We know that food is a vital part of education, and understand that fresh, healthy food is what young minds need to grow and develop. That's why our varied menus include a range of options to make healthy eating easier for everyone.
If you're as proud as we are that pupils are fuelled by fresh, healthy and sustainable food, we'd love it if you could help us spread the word. Connect with us and Food for Life Served Here online:
- Facebook - Schools Catering Service - Bury Council
- Facebook - Soil Association Food for Life
- Twitter - @SAfoodforLife
Like to find out more about Food for Life Served Here? Please visit Food for life.
Menus from 30 October 2023 to 1 April 2024 (Autumn/Winter menu)
Please note we also have gluten free, dairy free and vegan menus and we have carbohydrate count information for diabetics.
Primary school menu for Autumn/Winter 2023/24 (including gluten free, dairy free and vegan)
(These PDFs are not fully accessible and may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. See: Accessible documents).
Certificated Halal meat is available in most schools where there is a requirement. Copies of certificates are available on request.
Switch to school lunches and save
With food inflation running at 50% on some retail products a packed lunch costs more than a Bury Catering school lunch.
Switch to a school lunch and save.
A Bury Catering school meal is also:
- Better nutritionally than a typical packed lunch
- Tummy filling with 2 courses, 2 sides and drinks
- Tasty
- Varied & interesting
- What children want to eat
- Fun
- Planet friendly
- Supports special and multicultural diets
- Completely nut free and allergen safe
- Supports social skills
To switch, speak with your child’s school office team.
If you have any queries about school meals contact us on 0161 253 5742.
Costs
Primary paid school meals cost £2.50 from September 2023 or £12.50 a week.
If you have any payment queries, please contact your school office.
Value for Money
With Bury Catering, children get two courses, two sides and a drink for the price of a school meal. Where else can you get that value for a guaranteed healthy meal?
- Our main courses each day include 3-4 choices, unless it's a small school or the school has asked for less
- We always provide vegetarian, jacket potato and sandwich options
- We provide a meal suitable for Muslim children every day in every school
- We have a vegan, gluten free and dairy free choice too and provide other special diets when requested in advance. All special diets are provided in line with allergen legislation
- We have a formal allergen process which is available on request
- Our desserts each day include 3 choices (a tasty main dessert, fruit & organic yoghurt) and all our desserts are vegetarian
Healthy food
We comply with the mandatory School Food Standards from the Department for Education regarding nutrition in children's diets.
All our Primary schools have achieved 'Excellent' in the 'Greater Manchester Healthier Catering Award'.
Children can choose up to 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day. The salad bar helps with this but one dessert is always fruit and another dessert has fruit in it most of the week, plus there is always one hot vegetable choice each day.
We work closely with NHS nutritionists to develop our carb counts for diabetic children.
We steam, bake, roast using combination ovens in the main. We do not fry and many of our kitchens have had the fryers removed.
We do not add salt or saturated fat when cooking and our desserts are reduced sugar.
Catering for special diets and allergies
Our management team are trained to Highfield Level 3 Allergen Management, and we have a process for children with special dietary needs.
As well as our main menu we also have full vegan, dairy free and gluten free menu cycles. We have carb counts available for diabetics created by an NHS dietician from the Royal Oldham Hospital.
We do not serve foods containing nuts or traces of nuts. All Special Diets are provided in line with Allergen legislation. We have a formal allergen process which is available on request. Please contact us if your child has any special dietary requirements. We would prefer 2-4 weeks notice.
Staff
All our Kitchen Supervisors are craft trained and can conduct further development through Apprenticeships.
Our staff are friendly, focused on giving your child their first choice and an enjoyable meal experience. They are paid a Real Living Wage and have a quality range of benefits including a Greater Manchester Pension which reduces staff turnover and maximises the benefit of training.
Cleanliness
Our kitchens achieve 5 stars from Environmental Health, and they are monitored regularly by the Catering Management Team.
Special days
We carry out special days to add a bit of fun to the school dining experience and to encourage pupils to try school meals. A few examples of past lunches are below.
Social Media
Please follow Facebook - Schools Catering Service – Bury Council
Nutrition
Over 16,000 children in Bury eat a healthy and nutritious school lunch every school day.
We provide meals in accordance with government's School Food Standards (nutritional guidelines). We monitor our lunches regularly to ensure they are of the correct quality standard and portion size.
School Food Standards are intended to help children develop healthy eating habits and ensure that that they get the energy and nutrition they need across the whole school day. They place an emphasis on providing a wide range of foods across the week.
(This PDF is not fully accessible and may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. See: Accessible documents)
Contact Bury Catering
Telephone: 0161 253 5710.
Email: catering@bury.gov.uk.
Please be aware that we have a minimum office staff available in the school holidays.