Youngsters at a school in Scotland are reaping the rewards of a competitive scheme run by prepared fruit and vegetable supplier Caledonian Produce, as this year’s winning product is launched into Marks & Spencer.
Part of the Bakkavor Group, West Lothian-based Caledonian Produce has teamed up with local secondary school Bo’ness Academy in Falkirk for the last four years to run the School’s Challenge.
A project model developed by Scottish Food & Drink, Scottish Enterprise and food and drink sector skills council Improve, the School’s Challenge sees food and drink companies working with secondary schools to set pupils projects such as developing new food products to match a certain specification. Pupils work in teams and are typically given a couple of weeks to develop their product, with representatives from the food company judging the finished article.
Caledonian and Bo’ness Academy have developed a project that ended up being far bigger in scope. “Once we started talking, it became clear that both sides could benefit from a more long-term partnership,” said Caledonian’s HR Manager Debra Nichol. “In the end, the one project actually became two; we developed a project along the lines of the School’s Challenge for pupils in the first year of secondary school, but we also came up with a project to involve pupils from the academy’s seven feeder primary schools, which we call the P7 Transition Project.”
In this, final year pupils from each of the seven primary schools spend three sessions at Bo’ness Academy. Once the pupils join the academy the following September, the food theme is continued with the Food Challenge, which lasts the entire first term and part of the second. Pupils are asked to develop a prepared salad to the specifications of one of Caledonian’s customers, including all packaging, marketing and promotional material.
The final result is judged by the customer and the winning product is put into production by Caledonian. The winner this year, a Fruity Fiesta Rice with Zesty Sweet Chilli Dressing, has been launched this month exclusively in Marks & Spencer stores in Scotland.
Nichol said: “The pupils learn about all sorts of new things they have not experienced before, especially concerning food, fresh fruit and vegetables, health and nutrition. We have heard from so many parents who say their children take an interest in cookery, change their eating habits and show an understanding of the link between food and health after taking part in the projects.
“For us as a company, there are so many benefits. The food industry does not always enjoy the best reputation, so this is a great opportunity to reach out directly to young people and change those perceptions by teaching them about the realities of what we do. If we can inspire one young person to want to work in food and drink, we have done our job.”
Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, said: “In my view, this is a vital strategy for securing the long-term success of the industry. Caledonian is to be congratulated on the leadership and innovation it has shown, two things which are all the more important during a recession.”
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