Owen Sidaway, head of catering services, offender employment skills & services with the National Offender Management Service, will address the PS100 group of public sector catering professionals on March 31 at the Hilton London Metropole in Edgware Road.
Armed with just £1.87 per person, he and his team have to ensure the 86,900 prisoners in England and Wales get three nutritious meals a day plus snacks.
But the prison service has led the way in promoting better health and nutrition within the public sector through the introduction of food standards.
More than 15 years ago it put precise nutritional requirements into its food procurement practices.
But Sidaway is concerned that the healthy eating debate is in danger of over-complicating issues.
“My worry is that we segment malnutrition and obesity separately. When did we move away from [talking about] a balanced diet? In the prison service we still hold up as good practice the healthy eating plate,” he says.
“And I’m afraid that a lot of the debate in the media has brought a fear factor into food and people needed to be reminded that food is fun and social – even in prison.”
The PS100 group includes caterers, dietitians, scientists, MPs, business leaders and opinion-formers who form a collective lobbying voice to drive government legislation towards healthier lifestyles through public sector catering and education initiatives.