We understand that it’s important you know where your food comes from. We go to great lengths to source the best British ingredients. Supporting British businesses in this way helps us to boost local economies, protect the environment and reduce our carbon ‘foodprint’.
As leaders in our field, we were the first local authority to receive a Compassion in World Farming award in recognition of our food sourcing achievements.
Select the tiles below to find out more about our suppliers.
We work with leading brands and small local suppliers. We set challenges to some suppliers to develop some products especially for our customer base.
We like to work with suppliers who care about animal welfare, sustainability and meeting the special dietary requirements of our customers. Find out more about our partners and the ingredients that go into our food.
Dairy and eggs
All our eggs are free range and farmed to Laid In Britain standards. Hampshire County Council was the first local authority to receive the Good Egg Award from Compassion in World Farming.
The milk we use in our kitchens comes from Southern England or South Wales. Some milk is from Hampshire dairy farms and processed locally in Southampton. Our flavoured milk is produced by one of Ireland’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-operatives.
Fruit and vegetables
We train our catering teams to know about seasons and what fruit and vegetables are coming into and going out of season so that they can choose the most flavoursome ones for their menus. Wherever possible we like to enjoy the bounty of local produce.
Vegetarian and Vegan
We recognise that many people are trying to eat less meat nowadays but not give it up entirely. Many people no longer view meat as being an essential ingredient to their meal. Being flexitarian is a popular way of doing your bit to reduce climate change and promote sustainability. So we’re here to help.
We always offer vegetarian or vegan options on our menus and at school or college, you’ll find a range of different meals to suit your tastes. We have also taken the decision to list our vegetarian meals before meat ones to encourage customers to read them and consider what’s on offer.
Our vegetable goujons are suitable for vegans and are also wheat and gluten free.
Quorn is made from a natural protein called mycoprotein that is sourced from the earth and fermented. This process creates a sustainable meat alternative that has a similar taste and texture to meat compared to other plant-based proteins.
Quorn mycoprotein is derived from an abundant natural organism called Fusarium Venenatum. Did you know it was discovered in the South East of England? Despite its small size, it was found to have enormous nutritional value.
Fish
We make sustainable seafood choices so you can be sure that all the fish served by Education Catering are caught sustainably. We are committed to working with suppliers who abide by sustainable methods of catching the fish you eat, and we never use fish on the marine conservation society ‘fish to avoid’ list.
Fish and chips, a favourite dish of pupils and students, is high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and fibre. In schools, our fish fingers and our bubble-coated salmon are a fantastic way of encouraging children to eat fish whilst getting the omega 3 they need.
Meat
When you or your child eats meat from our menus you will have the assurance of knowing what you are eating. Britain has some of the most robust food assurance and traceability systems in the world.
Education Catering is proud to solely use British meat in its dishes supporting the British farming industry. In turn, this keeps the countryside how it looks today. Farmers play an important role in environmental and sustainability issues because they encourage wildlife and natural habitats. Sheep farming itself goes further in protecting rare plant and wildlife species due to the extensive use of grazing involved. Partly because of these very efficient production systems, emissions from UK livestock are now significantly lower, at around 5% of total GHG emissions, than the estimated 9% EU wide emissions figure for livestock.
All our meat is farmed to Red Tractor standard. British meat is produced to some of the highest welfare standards worldwide: no growth promoting hormones are allowed and any antibiotics are administered only under veterinary direction. All British hens are vaccinated against salmonella.
Britain’s pig farmers operate by UK law to standards of welfare that are some of the highest in the world. Britain’s cattle passport system means that each animal can be uniquely traced to its dam (mother) and place of birth.
Gluten free
We work with food and drink suppliers to provide our customers with a range of delicious and healthy gluten free options on our menus.
Drinks
All our drinks are produced sustainably so that you can be assured that they're good for the planet.
