Holiday Lunches

[Stargrower]

We are a full daycare nursery, open all year.  During term time, we have a hot lunch provided by the local primary school which we collect each day by car and bring back to nursery in insulated boxes.  We serve around 30 lunches a day.  During school holidays, we have been having frozen meals delivered which we heat and serve.  

The problem is, since the introduction of 30 hours and stretched funding, we are pretty much full every day so need the same number of lunches as during term time.  But we only have a normal domestic sized oven and we now don't have the oven space to heat the meals!  Our kitchen is tiny too.

In the past, children brought a packed lunch and I cooked a meal at tea time, but our tea numbers are now around 15 - 20 per day and this is a lot of work - especially five days a week for six weeks!  Oven space comes into this as well.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what we could do?  I have emailed all the local care homes in the hope that someone would cook for us during school holidays but had no replies.

Any ideas?  

Thanks 

[blondie]

could you speak to another local nursery and find out how they cover lunches?

alternatively could you afford to have someone come in daily and cook for you?

[Stargrower]

Thanks for your reply blondie.  Our nearest nursery (8 miles away) has a cook.

I think it would be difficult for someone to come and cook as our kitchen is so tiny. and the issue of oven space for 30 ish meals arises.  Also it would be only during school holidays.

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Stargrower

[finleysmaid]

local restaurant/university/summer school /café needing extra business??? or a local cook who  has passed their eho inspection could provide you with two dishes per day for a reasonable price. DO you have freezer space? 20 portions of 2 dishes should be about right. Better delivered frozen and cooked but EHO can advise. In a day I would say one hot meal and one sandwich style