65,000 children take part in Beefy and Lamby school dinner trials

MORE than 60,000 school children across Cumbria, Derbyshire and North Tyneside will be eating quality English beef and lamb from next week.

It comes after an English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) driven exercise to link local suppliers with their local education authorities and get Quality Standard Mark meat onto school dinner menus.

Eblex chief executive Richard Ali said he now expected other local authorities to follow the example of the first three trial counties, which included more than 750 schools in total.

“We’re saying ‘look we’ve done it to them’. They can see that the menus work and that its ready for them to replicate,” he said.

The school meals initiative comes as the industry gears up for the Year of Food and Farming in schools across the UK starting from this September. Mr Ali said Eblex’s moves to get more quality meat into schools would help contribute to reconnecting the younger generation with farming.

“It is all part of the bigger jigsaw of reconnecting children with where their food comes from and eating healthy, good quality food. As children tuck into their beef and lamb they will know why farming is important for their own nutrition and also the countryside.

“This all compliments the work the Year of Food and Farming will be doing,” he said.

The new school meal menus created with the help of Eblex include, Beef noodles, spiced lamb burgers and braised beef potato crust.

A catering manager from one of the schools involved, Julie Wood from Pilsley Primary school in Derbyshire, said both parents and children were in favour of the new meals.

“Parents are happy that we’re using proper meat instead of stuff in breadcrumbs. The Jamie Oliver series about school dinners showed everyone what was inside those turkey twisters.

“The kids can now see that this is proper meat,” she said.