Nursery Food: Budgeting - At all costs

There is no such thing as good food on the cheap. This is particularly true in the current climate, where food staples have risen by more than seven per cent in the past 12 months and continue to fluctuate alarmingly. But that is not to say a nursery cannot draw up a realistic budget and stick to it.

Effective food management starts with a strong commitment to healthy eating from owner or manager, and involves meticulous planning and emotional buy-in from all staff. Expenditure on food depends on a whole range of factors, including the menus, how efficiently portion sizes are met, the eating disposition of children, where you buy your food and how you minimise waste.

The more culinary knowledge and enthusiasm a nursery has, the more efficient it will be in making its ingredients go further. A top priority is to provide a nutritious, varied diet using seasonal produce, which will be more cheaply available at certain times of the year.

TIPS FOR MANAGING FOOD

Budgeting

Sizeable nurseries that have buying power and economies of scale may choose to draw up their budgets annually, while smaller operators may need to make more frequent adjustments to reflect price trends.

Start with the cost of staples for a menu that delivers a healthy, balanced diet, then factor in more expensive items to gauge what is achievable. Pricing the cost of staples accurately is key to arriving at a realistic budget, as these will account for the bulk of purchases. Other factors - such as portion control and knowing the number of your diners - will contribute to sustainability.

Costs per head

According to some nurseries providing high-quality food, it is possible to work on the basis of between £1.30 and £1.50 a day, per child. At Tall Trees Kindergarten in Somerset, for example, £1.50 a day covers fresh food snacks, a lunch with a main course and a pudding, and an afternoon meal, again with two courses. All children take the meal option, which helps the nursery to budget effectively.

Ingredients

Avoid supermarket value products and go for local suppliers of quality produce where possible. Being creative in using cheap, wholesome ingredients to stretch the budget is important.

While all meals must contain the right amount of protein, you don't have to rely exclusively on meat to provide it. Organic pulses and beans are a tasty alternative and can be used to make high-quality meat go further.

There is always scope to introduce something new into the menu that is often a little more expensive. At the Old School House Day Nursery in Suffolk, for example, foods such as mozzarella, feta cheese, Greek yoghurt and quinoa are introduced at points in menu cycles. By ensuring that the basic everyday ingredients are monitored, the overall cost balances out, says the nursery (see case study, right). Using home-grown fruit and vegetables is always an excellent way to keep costs down.

Bulk buying

Bulk buying has its place in food management, but only certain goods are appropriate. It is important to be aware of the fact that large catering packs of dried and frozen food are sometimes of inferior quality, and can be a false economy. On the plus side, bulk buying foods that can be stored over a period of time can help to minimise waste and provide flexibility within menu planning.

Bulk buying organic dried goods such as beans and pulses, ideally from local suppliers, is always a good option.

Rotating menus

Rotating menus has a direct bearing on cost. Many nurseries change their menus twice a year - for spring and summer, and autumn and winter. This ensures seasonal produce features in meals and snacks, and helps with budgeting as well as variety.

However, bear in mind that children need to be familiar with dishes in order to be receptive to them. Introducing new ingredients to established favourites is the way to go and reduces the possibility of waste.

Logistics

This includes looking at where you shop and how often, or - if using suppliers - examining the quality of product and service, how often food is delivered and how far it is coming from. Any exercise to improve logistics should involve the manager and chef working together to look at purchasing systems and budgeting around quality ingredients.

Procurement

Some nursery groups, such as Busy Bees, work with procurement companies to ensure food prices remain stable. These companies can ensure prices from suppliers are competitive, and fix prices for six months to a year.

Procurement companies can also monitor and advise on food purchases generally and thereby save time for busy nursery chefs.

When to outsource

A nursery may decide to outsource its meals to cover staff absences or it may feel that using a reputable caterer is a cost-effective, long-term option. Catering company Healthy Roots, for example, has been delivering hot meals since 2010 and now has an expanding customer base in Kent, Sussex and London. Its food meets the Caroline Walker Trust guidelines and complies with the Scottish Nutrition Guidance for Early Years.

Aside from covering nursery emergencies, it reports that some customers are finding it too expensive to keep an in-house chef and prefer to use its service.

Director Dawn Phelps says, 'There is definitely room in the market for people like me. The word caterer doesn't reflect the high quality of the meals we - and indeed other repu- table companies - provide. Our clients are always really impressed and it is certainly worth giving outsourced food a try when the circumstance is right.'

CASE STUDY 1: THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE DAY NURSERY

At the Old School House Day Nursery in Cambridgeshire, an outstanding nursery that cares for up to 94 children each day, managing director Linda Baston-Pitt says that food is her second highest expenditure after staffing, and accounts for 67 per cent of the nursery's remaining direct costs, at £30,000 per year.

She says, 'Working towards a Children's Food Trust award, which promotes excellence in children's food, recently gave us the chance to review our food policy in detail and one of the key areas for us included looking at procurement and budgeting.'

The nursery focused on cost comparisons, frequency of deliveries, the quality of product and service, and the sustainability of that service - for example, food miles involved in delivery. The Old School House has recently appointed a company called Pro Purchase to advise on its ongoing food policy.

'It monitors and advises us on the most economical options for particular purchases we make, and if savings can be achieved it will then implement them,' says Ms Baston-Pitt.

'This has already helped us to make cost savings without compromising on quality, and by reducing our chef's workload she now only has to do spot checks on prices rather than having to spend a huge amount of time analysing large volumes of individual items. This means she is able to spend more time cooking with the staff and children.'

CASE STUDY 2: LITTLE MONKEY'S NURSERY

Little Monkey's Nursery in Windsor, which won the Nursery World award for food in 2010, employs a dedicated chef at both of its sites and provides high-quality meals at a maximum cost per head of between £1.30 and £1.50.

Manager Linsey Lunny says, 'There can be some variation in cost of meals. For example, we use organic produce and providing a full roast with organic chicken can work out a little more expensive than other options.'

Little Monkey's favours Waitrose and Ocado for the bulk of its food shop, although this is balanced with home-grown produce to help to keep costs down. It also makes regular trips to the Wholefoods supermarket in London to stock up on unusual items such as coconut palm sugar.

Ms Lunny reports the nursery has recently found a supplier of organic milk under the free milk scheme. 'Before, we were having to buy all our organic milk but now we have it on tap. We have milk-based meals on our menus and this is saving us a substantial amount of money.'

She adds 'Unlike some nurseries, we employ our chefs in the morning and afternoons. We believe it's important to send our children home fully fed at the end of the day, so that parents can spend quality time with them before they go to bed.'

MORE INFORMATION

• Children's Food Trust, www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/pre-school

• Pro Purchase, www.pro-purchase.com

• Healthy Roots, www.healthyroots.co.uk.

Help for this feature was provided by Busy Bees Group; Tall Trees Kindergarten; Droitwich Spa Nursery and Kindergarten; Little Monkey's Nursery; Young Friends Nursery, Hove; The Old School House Nursery; and Healthy Roots