PKL Modular Food Cube: Catering Solutions for Schools & Education

Mission For Nutrition

PKL Modular Food Cube’s the solution to the rising pressure on catering infrastructure in education.

Implementing a Modular Food Cube offering at your school could be the answer to alleviating significant pressures being felt throughout the UK education system in regard to lunch and wider catering facilities. With student numbers growing by up to 15% in secondary settings, and average pupil populations in infant schools at around 26.6 per classroom (closing in on the statutory limit of 30), the palpable inevitability of ever-growing demand is requiring swifter solutions than ever before.

Kitchen Under Pressure

An example of this can be seen through a previous client, Passmores Academy, who required an increase in food provision capacity to serve the increasing intake of students, on average 230 extra a year, they were experiencing. The principal, Vic Goddard explains: “We contacted several different companies with our plan and a rough idea of the design, and PKL came back with the best solution to meet our needs.

“The PKL Food Cube was the ideal option for us because we did not have a sufficient amount of room inside the school to expand, so the only option was to utilise our outdoor space. PKL designed a bespoke Modular Food Cube for the Academy and the outcome has certainly exceeded all of our expectations. We are able to cater for a much larger number of students on a daily basis and it’s fantastic to now be in a position to offer students a much wider range of products both at break time and lunch time.”

Keep Students On-Site

The integral nature of the correlation between nutritious food and quality of education is one that cannot be understated. In fact, a School Fund Trust study has revealed that the availability and consumption of a healthy school lunch offering can improve a student’s concentration by a staggering 20%, also finding that improved kitchen and dining facilities positively impacts pupil behaviour and notably, independence. Instilling a sense of autonomy is one of a number of goals educators seek to teach students of all ages – a fantastic example of how this was achieved, at the same time as tackling a drive to keep more students on-site for lunch can be seen at Cleeve School.

Cleeve School contacted PKL in search for a solution to keeping more of their Sixth Form students on school grounds over lunch and throughout free periods. They ultimately chose to install a PKL Modular Food Cube directly outside their Sixth Form entry point – creating an outdoor dining offering as a perfect addition.

Acting Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Emma Smith put it best: “The students really enjoy having the Food Cube and being able to come and use it on a regular basis throughout the day. The sixth form students really like the privilege of having it to use for themselves, and we have seen an improvement in students staying on site. I would definitely recommend it.”

From Necessity to Opportunity

Current government statistics indicate significant growth in pupil numbers over the next 4 years, with the projected increase being an extra 213,000 students compared to 2020’s total by 2026 (an increase of 6.6%). This is further compounded by the meteoric rise in eligibility of free school meals, now representing 20.8% of the UK (1.74million) student population attending state-funded schools – presenting a notable increase in pressure on existing facilities to provide all with a healthy, balanced offering.

However, deciding to implement a Modular Food Cube solution at your school should not be seen simply as an expense born out of necessity – but can also be viewed as one of great opportunity.

A number of our education clients have reported lucrative financial gain since installing, and directly attributed to opening their PKL Food Cube. Our previous client, Writhlington School, found that within 8 months of installation, the Food Cube’s ‘grab and go’ offering represented a 75% share of ALL the school’s catering sales – generating around 500 sales through the Food Cube per day. Gary Monger, Catering Manager compounds this: ““The Food Cube has really changed the way our kitchen operation works and has helped to make it more efficient and more profitable.”

Writhlington School is not an isolated example – Bexley Academy, through Cucina, required an increase in food servery areas due to rising school population subsequently straining the existing kitchen/canteen infrastructure. Tony Ridgwell, Operations Manager of Cucina outlines exactly what the PKL Food Cube has done for the school: “The Cube has replaced the outside trolley service that we offered and offers much greater variety.  The Cube is generating revenues of £100+ a day, where the trolley generated £30.  We see the Cube trade building and we know this is additional revenue for us rather than diverting restaurant spends, so generating £500 a week of additional revenue is very positive.”

Food For Thought

All in all, whether you’re running a nursery, a primary or secondary school – ‘food for thought’ has never been more literal. Implementing a state-of-the-art, modular Food Cube offering is demonstrable to provide the solution to alleviating pressure related to increasing pupil numbers, rising free school meal recipients, on-site student retention or even profits to put back into the running of the school.

Does your food service infrastructure require an aesthetically pleasing, bespoke upgrade? No matter your catering conundrum – PKL has the solution.