Menus and food and cleaning services for schools
The purpose of school meals is to eat and learn together. School food is tasty, nutritious, safe, sustainable and guided. It is also a teaching and learning situation, teaching good eating habits and respect for others. Customer satisfaction is important to us and we ask students and staff for feedback periodically. Vegetarian meals are served alongside the basic meals in secondary schools and high school.
School menus
School menus are available on the eRuokalista website.
We follow the latest (2017) recommendations for school meals from the State Nutrition Advisory Board. In school meals, we pay attention to the nutritional content of meals, the amount of salt and the choice of ingredients. School meals include vegetables, berries, fruit, high-fibre bread, low-fat meat and dairy products and vegetable protein. The model plate portion gives a concrete demonstration of what a proper meal looks like on a plate. We follow a five-week rotating menu for school meals, taking into account the Christmas and Easter feast.
Domestic / local food
When it comes to sourcing, raw material selection and menu planning, domestic and local products are important to us, as well as sustainable and environmentally responsible food service operations. Potatoes and onions come from Siilinjärvi, berries and bread products from the local area. Meat, chicken, milk and dairy products are domestic. We take into account the seasonal variation of vegetables and fruit in our menu planning. Salads, tomatoes and cucumbers are domestic in the best harvest season. When the harvest season changes, raw materials may also be sourced from within the EU.
Special diets
The new national allergy programme and guidelines aim to avoid unnecessary allergy diets. We follow the national allergy programme in Siilinjärvi municipality schools in cooperation with the school health services. Students with special dietary needs receive their own meal based on a written statement from a nurse or doctor. All notifications of special diets are made through the school nurse to the school kitchen.
The kitchen is proactively informed if a person with a special dietary requirement (e.g. celiac, dairy-free, many allergies) is absent, thus avoiding unnecessary meal preparation.
Skilled kitchen professionals
All schools in the municipality of Siilinjärvi have completed school food diplomas. The diploma is proof that the school ensures that the nutrition, health and manners objectives set for school meals are met.
Environmental responsibility plays an important role in the kitchen’s operations.
Guardians are always welcome to discuss all matters relating to the pupils’ meals with the staff in the dining area.
The Oiva reports on food control can be found on the Oivahymy website. Enter Siilinjärvi municipality in the search field.