Catering
Our catering is provided by Hutchison Catering, an independent, family-run catering supplier that maintains a traceable supply chain, and values ethical farming practices and locally sourced food where possible. We recognise that a great school food culture improves student health and wellbeing and Eckington students enjoy freshly made food in our three dining halls, which enable us to cater for different aged students individually.
(on a three week rotation)
Hutchisons regularly gather ideas and feedback from students so that they can provide tempting, nutritionally balanced and wide-ranging food options that our students will enjoy. We work with Hutchisons to:
- offer tasty, nutritionally balanced meals
- provide a varied lunchtime offer including hot and cold food, ‘grab and go’ items, sandwiches and wraps
- cater for a wide range of dietary requirements
- use local suppliers wherever possible
- cook our meals on site in our own kitchens
- make sure that 80% of our dishes are freshly prepared
- follow the standards set by the Soil Association Food for Life Partnership
- maintain a 5-star hygiene rated kitchen
- minimise packaging
- recycle as much as possible
Meal deals
Every day we offer a £3 meal deal at lunchtime that showcases tasty new dishes and offers great value. A budget range of options is also offered for those students on a smaller budget or looking for a smaller portion.
Meal Deal 1
- Main meal of the day
- Dessert
Meal Deal 2
- Grab 'n' go
- Dessert
Meal Deal 3
- Sandwich
- Dessert
- Any drink
Morning break snacks
Hungry students will be able to buy a tempting range of morning snacks to see them through to lunch time. These may include toast, crumpets, sausage rolls and a honey and blueberry overnight oat pot.
Dietary requirements
All food products and menus will be clearly labelled where applicable, and all catering staff receive allergen training.
Special dietary requirements including vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten free and allergies can be accommodated. Please contact enquiries@eckington.chorustrust.org for further information.
Paying for school meals
We use a cashless catering payment system to enable students to pay for food in school. Your child’s dinner money account can be topped up using ParentPay.
Free school meals
Applying for free school meals is straightforward, confidential and online and can save you approximately £540 a year. Your child’s lunch account is automatically and confidentially credited with £3 each day, which is enough for a ‘meal deal’. If your child wants to spend more than £3, including food at break or additional drinks, extra money can be added to their account using ParentPay.
If the full meal allowance is not used up daily, any surplus will be lost - it will not roll over to the next day.
Are you eligible?
Just log into the speedy free school meal checker system to see if you are eligible. Visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals or scan the QR code to check and apply:
Did you know?
We receive pupil premium funding for students who receive free school meals, which helps us to provide further support for these students. To find out how we use this money to support our students, please see our pupil premium page.
