GY5 Food Service Consultants, that specialise in education catering, has released the third in a series of advisory guides to schools and caterers.
Since March 2020, and the business interruption that ensued, GY5 has worked closely with schools, academy’s, and their caterers to ensure business relations have kept at the very least civil and at best a better, friendlier partnership!
On to matters of the school year end and the new term and all the intrigue surrounding this- how many customers, how do we budget, what’s the menu, how do we serve it? It is safe to assume that all caterers will need to provide some form of audit on accounts at the term end as well as a workable budget plan for next year!
The Cabinet Office has issued a new Procurement Policy Note 04/20: Recovery and Transition from COVID-19 and this continues to express a desire for public bodies to support their contractors and suppliers.
There is no absolute guide for parties to go to, however. And without a common formula or guide for schools and caterers to adapt we could see another wave of distress and anxiety expressed by all who cannot fathom how to manage their business relations for the next period.
The crucial requirement is transparency and partnership. And this needs to extend for many months and involve close monitoring of sales as well as the new heightened safety regime.
We are now working through phase three in preparation for this and it is hugely encouraging that we have received buy in from food service operators that we deal with regularly and occasionally.
Throughout the last few months any school or caterer can freely access our advisory guides and adapt them for their particular circumstances. Version 3 is the same and it’s goal is to protect schools, save suppliers and build partnerships.
You can download the guide here: School and Caterer Interim Arrangements Guide GY5 V3 July 2020
