School meals caterer Eden Foodservice has become the first private company to win a contract for a group of schools in Wales.

The caterer, part of Initial Facilities Services, has landed a three-year contract to feed children at 52 primary schools and five secondary schools in Anglesey, worth £6m in annual turnover over the full-term.

The contract, which goes live in September and sees 200 catering staff transfer to Eden, has an option to extend two-years. All food will be prepared freshly on site and, where possible, will be locally sourced.

Gwyn Parri, head of education at Anglesey County Council said: “This new partnership will enable the council to invest more resources than ever before into school meals, which will result in a wider option of tasty and healthy food for our pupils.”

Simon James, managing director of Eden, said: “We are proud to be the first private sector company to win a contract of this kind in Wales.”

Wales has 22 local authorities and only 1% of school dinners are currently contracted out to private companies. Local Authorities spend around £27m on food for school meals each year.

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By Chris Druce

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