Meals provider Apetito is giving schools the opportunity to 'transform' their catering with a new street food van experience designed to 'bring a breath of fresh air' to school meals.
The street food van offers a healthy alternative to traditional grab-and-go options, which often consist of sandwiches, pasties, chocolates, and crisps. It also meets the demand for convenient, nutritious meals in large schools with limited dining space or tight service times.
Rupert Weber, Apetito’s general manager of education division, said: “The street food van is a fantastic addition to any school’s catering offering. Not only does it enhance the dining experience, improve pupil satisfaction with meals, but it is more proven to increase the hot meal uptake within the KS2 and secondary school age group.
“The van not only provides quality, healthy and nutritious meals, but also addresses the significant demand for food on the go in large schools with small dining spaces or limited time to complete service. Here at Apetito, we’re proud to be revolutionising school meals and our new street food van truly is a game changer.”
The van offers six interchangeable, chef-developed menus inspired by international street food, with more in development. Schools can serve a different cuisine each day, such as Mexican dishes from ‘La Cantina’ or Italian meals from ‘Buon Appetito.’
Following a successful trial at The Grange, the school reported a 35% increase in hot meal uptake, with pupils enjoying the wide variety of meals on offer.
Stephen Gauller, chief operating officer of The Grange School, added: “Since having the Street Food Van by Apetito in our dining hall, we’ve found the children have been more engaged with their meals and excited to see what cuisine is on the menu that day.
“The children particularly love ‘La Cantina’ & ‘The Chippy’. We have not only seen an increase in our variety and offering to our older pupils but knowing they’re receiving a healthy and nutritious meal in a grab-&-go format, which is going to provide them with the energy they need to finish the school day, is fantastic.”