Chartwells, the UK’s leading school and education catering company, treated pupils from across Newport to an exciting Environment and Sustainability conference this week, to help educate them on the importance of nutrition and sustainability.
With the aim of continuing to support local schools on their sustainability journeys and as part of Chartwells’ own sustainability commitment, the conference held at St Joseph’s RC High School, welcomed both primary and secondary pupils from across the local area, as well as special guests including; The Rt. Worshipful, the Mayor of Newport, Councillor Trevor Watkins and Councillor Davies, Newport City Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Councillor Forsey, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Biodiversity, along with a host of key industry speakers and suppliers including the Welsh Government, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and Keep Wales Tidy*.
Throughout the day, pupils were able to enjoy a range of sustainability talks on key areas such as, food waste, packaging and recycling, food production and conservation, and see first-hand how these businesses affect sustainability within Newport.
To help further educate pupils regarding the interwoven topics of food, nutrition, and sustainability, pupils also took part in a fun, interactive session, delivered by Chartwells’ Executive Chef, Carl Chappel and an expert team of nutritionists, where they were challenged to put their own culinary skills and learnings from the day to the test.
Choosing from a selection of five ingredients, pupils were tasked with creating a sustainable dish, before presenting their recipe to the room and explaining why it was good for them and for the planet. Dishes included a berry smoothie called ‘gwaed y ddraig’, as well as colourful vegetable and houmous wrap, but the overall winner went to a bumble bee inspired energy ball, aptly named ‘bumble ball’.
The sustainability theme also carried into the lunch for the day, with Chartwells’ award-winning catering team, developing a specially designed menu for the event. Dishes on the menu included; No Waste Cauli Mac n Cheese, made from locally sourced cauliflower; Plant-based BBQ Meatballs with Wheat Pasta; Bumblebee Trust Greek Houmous Salad; and Carrot Cake, made from leftover carrot peelings, veg noodles and chickpea water.
Longer term, Chartwells in partnership with Newport City Council will continue to deliver and drive its ongoing sustainable programme of activity throughout the local area.
James Muldoon, Regional Manager, Chartwells told us……
“We’re determined to continue reaching young people in Newport and educating them on the importance of healthy and sustainable eating. We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to bring pupils and leading sustainability experts together, and offer young people the chance to enjoy learning about food and the importance of making food choices which are good for them and for the environment.
We know these are particularly challenging times for everyone and that is why hosting events like this is so important. We need to ensure that everyone has access to the education and resources they need to live a healthy and sustainable life and we will continue to support the Newport community to make sure this happens.”
Carl Chappell, Executive Chef, Chartwells said…..
“It’s inspiring to see young people engaged and enthused about issues that are not only vital to their own well-being but that of the planet also. The children absolutely loved the interactive workshop and it was great to see them getting creative with the ingredients they were given and putting their learnings from the day into action.”
Mark Rowland, Chair of the Newport Catering Board added……
“We are very grateful to Chartwell’s for organising this Conference. The ongoing support Chartwells provides in delivering nutritional food and educational sessions, continues to have a tangible positive impact within Newport Schools, and today is just another example of this.
The schools present will all be in different places in terms of their sustainability journeys. However, events like this, which encourage wider industry engagement, networking, knowledge sharing and help to inspire young people to drive positive environmental change, are vital in ensuring we drive more sustainable practices within our schools, whilst also setting children up with the tools and knowledge they need to make positive choices around food, nutrition, wellbeing, and sustainability.”
