World Bee Theme Day increases meal uptake in schools across Barking and Dagenham
The 20th of May each year has been declared World Bee Day by the United Nations, highlighting the important role that bees have on our planet and helping to feed the world’s populations.
To mark World Bee Day last week, BD Together’s school catering teams, part of the BD Group, organised a range of activities and initiatives to raise awareness of the crucial role bees play in pollinating nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food. The day coincided with School Census Day, so the teams knew that their efforts would also help increase meal uptake, which in turn would benefit the schools.
BD Together organised a range of activities in collaboration with the schools, including:
- Offering a special honey-themed menu
- The Great Bee Bake Off – an in-school baking competition for kitchen teams. Once judged the cakes were raffled off at the schools and the proceeds donated to charities chosen by the schools
- Donating insect and bee hotels for school gardens
- Dressing the lunch counters with bunting, balloons and steamers, with some team members dressing up as bees!
The day was a great success as the children loved it, which led to an increase of over 3,300 extra school meals across all our schools in Barking and Dagenham.
World Bee Day is just one of the regular theme days BD Together holds throughout the school year. We organise at least one a month, as the children love them and they are a fantastic tool for increasing meal uptake and promoting the delicious and nutritious meals our teams produce. We will be holding at least two more theme days before the end of the summer term; a Fish and Chip Day on 18 June and Here Comes Summer on 14 July, with specially themed menus and other fun activities planned.
To find out more about our theme days, how we work with schools, parents and the children to provide high quality nutritious meals and promote meal uptake, please contact us on and we can show you how BD Together can make a real difference within your school. To find out more, contact sales@bdtp.co.uk or call 020 8227 2222.