Can anyone explain to me how these people sleep at night? I just don’t understand how a company that feeds kids can see a profit rise of 30% as anything other than a damning indictment of the quality of their food and treatment of their workers.
I mean don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s a business and that a profit is one of the aims of that. My dad was a very successful food manufacturer and had a profitable business in that for a long time. But his key thing was quality - with quality, fair pricing and fair treatment of people came good business. And he stood his ground against the big (Aussie) supermarkets on this and won. I just don’t understand this alternative approach.
@CatherineFlick the competion here is not about quality though. The schools will have to take the lowest bidder. If the only thing you let companies compete on is price then the quality will always be low. Its not the schools fault either as they don't have any money to pay for better quality. It was these children who caused the 2008 financial crisis so its them that must pay. It does not excuse the people involved but its not like there is any pressure to do anything else.
Sorry to interject, but schools do *not* have to select solely on cost.
Schools have several routes to purchasing things like catering - for example using frameworks:
https://buyingforschools.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/25/a-beginners-guide-to-using-frameworks-for-school-buying/
That allows them to select on exactly what they value - which might be cost, or quality, or variety, or SLA etc
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-dfe-approved-framework-for-your-school
Undoubtedly some schools do go for the cheapest - but they can fire their caterer if they don't perform to standard.
@Edent @CatherineFlick I will hold my hands up to no knowing the details. My comment about cost was a more general one on the financial pressure schools find themselves under.