Green, In More Ways Than One
is becoming greener
and we are not just referring to the logo!
In this blog post we explain how Dolce’s revolutionary primary school pre-ordering system has helped to eliminate food waste across the schools we cater for, along with an introduction to a new innovation allowing schools to supply gas to the National Grid.
We also provide inspiration for cooking using seasonal UK grown produce…
Scroll to the bottom of the page to read a month by month guide, detailing what produce is in season and when, designed to demonstrate what you can expect to buy whilst planning your family meals. We have also included a guide on what to plant and when, if you are keen to turn your hand to gardening.
Dolce’s Approach To Sustainability
The schools we partner with have always benefitted from a hidden, yet increasingly important, heritage in eliminating food waste.
As developers of the world’s first ever online education pre-ordering and payments system, Dolce’s innovative technology has allowed kitchens to address food waste at every step of the process. The result of this has meant that next to no food is sent to landfill in our partners schools’ kitchens.
Now, through a clever lunch time innovation, our partner schools are able to ensure that not a single ounce of food is sent to landfill, whilst also helping to supply gas to the National Grid.
On average, schools send approximately 30% of food to landfill, so therefore this technology is a sure fire step forward in eliminating food waste in education catering. The approach has impressed key figures in the industry, with a previous LACA Chair summarising their invention of online pre order in primary schools as ‘the biggest blue sky thinking in education in 20 years’
In the coming weeks, we will be reporting on a case study at one school; The Redeemer Primary School, who are doing just that. We initially set this scheme up to encourage a ‘grow your own’ lifestyle where children at the school can work on the school vegetable patch and then help to cultivate ingredients for use in their own kitchen.
The Green Team now, in a first of its kind model in education, have reduced their lunchtime food waste to a market-leading 0% vs the industry standard of 30%, which is helping to power the National Grid.
Be sure to check our social media channels for the update on this.
Click here to read more about Dolce’s ongoing mission to avoid food waste, even the Covid 19 lockdowns couldn’t spoil our efforts!
If you are keen to make a start in using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients in the meals you prepare; see below for some inspiration on what you can expect to buy, or even grow, month by month.
Our quick guide to planting and harvesting
You should plant new potatoes between March and April,
your prime harvesting time falls around July or August.
Snap peas can go into the ground anytime between March and June,
and then they’ll pop back out when the pods are visibly ready around June – December.
Cherry tomatoes like to be planted between March and April,
they should be ready between June and October.
Plant your carrots between April and August,
you’ll see them again anywhere between July and October.
Get a head start on planting spring onions, February to June,
May to August is the prime time to harvest.
Parsley can begin its life anywhere between March to July,
and it should be ready between June and August.
Finally, you can harvest a lot of herbs all year round, however, avoid harvesting Chives between October and November
Plant mint and coriander between March and June; chives March to April and/or July to September; rosemary from February to June and basil in May only.
If growing your own food doesn’t appeal then don’t worry. You can still participate and contribute to sustainability. Before planning your shopping list you can learn about seasonal fruit and vegetables and then buy your produce accordingly.
Click here to see the full list of seasonal produce.
