Blakemore Foodservice Steps Up Deliveries Ahead of New School Term

August 20, 2021

Blakemore Foodservice is once again busy with start-up deliveries ahead of the new school term in September.

Before the school year even begins, 1,200 local-authority-maintained schools are scheduled to receive a start-up delivery from Blakemore Foodservice to restock kitchens before the children return, along with hundreds of independent schools who will also take deliveries in the first week of their new term.

Blakemore Foodservice Trade Sector Manager Matt Johnson commented: “The three weeks leading up to the start of the new school term are some of the busiest of the year for us.

“Scheduling start-up deliveries is a massive operation for Blakemore Foodservice, with planning ongoing from February to June.

“We have to make a huge number of deliveries in a very short space of time as all schools want to prepare for the start of the new term at the same time.

“This year had the potential to be extra challenging as food suppliers and distributors across the nation face labour and driver shortages, but the fantastic work of our Foodservice and AFB teams means that we will be able to fulfil all of our customer orders despite this.

“All of our teams across the division have played a key role in making sure that each school will receive their full delivery on time, so a massive thank you to everyone for their efforts.” 

The start of the new school term will see many schools returning to a full meal service following more than a year of disruption to menus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The business has had to adapt to their changing needs throughout.

Blakemore Foodservice has also been busy helping school caterers and its other customers to prepare for the introduction of Natasha’s Law in October.

New legislation will require schools and food vendors to provide full ingredient lists and allergen labelling on foods pre-packaged for direct sale in order to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy.

To help plan for this, the business has invested in a new product information management system that can provide customers with extensive information on product origins, nutritional content, ingredients, allergens and certifications, to assist them with everything from menu planning to technical audits and marketing.

Earlier this year Blakemore Foodservice launched a new progressive web app that enables customers to access better product nutritional and allergen data as and when they purchase products.

The division continues to support customers with moving from paper-based to online ordering solutions, which are delivering more efficiencies across the business.
 

Hundreds of schools are set to receive a delivery from Blakemore Foodservice ahead of the new term

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