The contract, worth £35 million, will see Chartwells continue to provide school meals to Lewisham, as they have done since 1999, but with an updated school meals offer, reflecting the needs of children whilst maintaining its commitment to delivering great tasting healthy food.
Lewisham primary schools will benefit from refreshed lunchtime menus that have been redesigned to appeal to 4-11 year-olds, with the introduction of the Food Superheroes to enhance nutritional education and help sustain and increase school meal uptake.
The character designs were shared with over 25,000 youngsters across Chartwells’ local authority contracts, who picked their favourite design concepts.
The contract employs over 400 employees and as part of this contract renewal, Chartwells will be offering three apprenticeships a year to Lewisham residents.
Robin Mills, managing director of Chartwells, said: “We are thrilled to continue working with Lewisham. This is an important contract to us and we have worked hard to meet their specific needs and requirements.
“Our team have built a unique relationship with the Council here since 1999, based on trust, shared objectives and mutual respect.
“I think our eagerness to support the local community and bring innovation and fresh ideas to the table, such as our free porridge breakfast initiative, all worked in our favour.
“Our commitment to apprenticeship schemes and our management of the Lewisham Training Kitchen, which has become a real hub for the local community, also helped ensure we successfully retained this contract.”
Chartwells works with over 2,300 education units including primary schools, secondary schools, academy schools, independent schools, colleges and universities and produces and delivers approximately 975,000 meals each week, 38 million meals annually.