Southfield School for Girls appointed Stir Food through Education Buying Group’s Catering DPS to deliver a compliant, high-quality catering service for a large and busy mainstream secondary school. The partnership combines efficient service delivery with strong pupil engagement, sustainability initiatives and meaningful social value.
Southfield School for Girls sought a catering provider that could deliver speed and efficiency at scale while actively engaging pupils in nutrition, wellbeing and environmental awareness. The school also wanted a supplier that would support enrichment activities, fundraising and whole-school culture, all within a compliant procurement framework.
As a high-footfall secondary environment, Southfield School for Girls requires fast-paced service to keep queues moving and pupils fed efficiently. At the same time, the school wanted catering to be more than transactional, using food as a platform to encourage healthier choices, sustainability and community engagement.
Stir Food delivers a dynamic and engaging service at Southfield School for Girls, built around regular themed days and awareness events linked to national campaigns such as World Environment Day, World Book Day and Children in Need. Health-focused menu promotions encourage balanced nutrition, including: • Wholemeal grains, fruit and oily fish • High-protein and gut-health-supporting dishes • Plant-based options with lower environmental impact Stir Food actively supports school life beyond the dining hall, delivering breadmaking workshops led by Executive Chef Uli Di Benedetto, supporting charity fundraising (including Children in Need and Young Minds), and hosting end-of-term staff celebration events such as barbecues.
The catering service is fully embedded into the rhythm of school life, delivering nutritious meals quickly while maintaining high levels of pupil engagement. Stir Food has become a tool for education, wellbeing and community-building, supporting both learning and school culture.
Stir Food delivers strong social and economic value through responsible employment practices and a clear commitment to staff wellbeing. All team members are paid at or above locally benchmarked rates, helping to support financial security and retention. This is reinforced by significant investment in wellbeing, including access to counselling services, mental health and resilience tools, financial support resources and a confidential 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme that extends support to staff and their families.
Awareness and inclusion are embedded across Stir Food’s operations, with initiatives designed to support both staff and the wider school community. These include the provision of menopause awareness resources to help colleagues better understand and support one another, alongside active participation in Hello Yellow Day for World Mental Health Day. Through this initiative, Stir Food raises both awareness and funds for the charity Young Minds, extending the impact of the catering service beyond the dining hall.
Environmental sustainability is a core focus of the service delivered at Southfield School for Girls. Stir Food supported the design of the school’s kitchen in partnership with a local supplier, ensuring that all equipment and layouts contribute to efficient service delivery and avoid unnecessary use of resources. To balance the need for speed of service with environmental responsibility, compostable bagasse packaging is used, significantly reducing environmental impact while maintaining operational efficiency.
Student engagement plays an important role in driving longer-term environmental outcomes. Stir Food works closely with Southfield School for Girls’ eco-club, sharing information, ideas and practical resources that help pupils understand sustainability issues and take an active role in improving environmental performance across the school and wider community.
The environmental impact of Stir Food’s menus is independently measured using Klimato, providing robust evidence of progress and accountability. Analysis shows that menus now achieve a ‘B’ rating, with meals delivering less than half the climate impact of the global average. This gives the school confidence that pupils are receiving nutritious meals that align with both health and sustainability goals.
School Representative
Stir Food
