Prices generally are not rising at anything like the rates we saw last year. In fact the cost of energy, broadband and water have eased considerably, while food price inflation was down to 10% in October, the last month for which official figures exist.
It needs repeating, though, that this means prices are continuing to rise and the reality for caterers is that in October 2023 their average food bills were 10% higher than they were the same time the year before. You can be sure that in most cases they did not have 10% more budget to spend, though.
That is why we have again decided to join with Meiko to provide another round of ideas, tips, hacks and advice to help – just as we did this time last year.
Ever tighter budgets have an obvious impact on businesses and catering operations all through the supply chain - whether you are a caterer, food manufacturer, supplier, wholesaler or farmer. And beyond that is the impact on households, with workers across the industry hugely impacted at home too.
This help will be coming from industry experts, independent consultants and from caterers, including contractors, working across all sectors, from schools to hospitals, care homes, universities, prisons, and the MoD.
In particular we have input from Meiko UK, with managing director Paul Anderson saying: “The ‘service’ provided by catering equipment suppliers is the key ingredient to the future sustainability of the UK public sector.
“Using better cooking, dishwashing and food waste recycling equipment will improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact. That is why it is so important for catering equipment suppliers to improve their service over the lifetime of their kit.”
Where can energy savings be made with new dishwashing equipment?
- Training from the manufacturer: Support over the machine’s lifetime means new staff arriving anytime are trained to maximise the energy efficiency of your dishwasher
- Heat recovery: Look for systems recovering heat from multiple sources, including exhaust air and hot wastewater
- Reverse osmosis water treatment: Keeps the boiler free of limescale
- Automatic hood dishwashers: Save energy (and labour) by speeding up the washing process