We are really excited to announce that Zebedees has been awarded the Eat Well Start Well Award from Surrey County Council.

The award scheme, developed by the Public Health team at Surrey County Council as a part of its whole systems approach to obesity, supports Early Years care providers to ensure that the food they offer provides appropriate amounts of energy and nutrients and encourages children to make healthy choices.

This is fantastic news for any nurseries based in Surrey using our service, because Zebedees lunches and teas meet all of the criteria set out in the award assessment for these two meals. But there’s even more good news, because from the launch of our new Autumn/Winter 2023-24 menu, we will be introducing a Breakfast Box and Kids Club tea which, when ordered alongside our fruit/salad boxes, will fulfil the nutritional criteria for ALL meals included within the award assessment (breakfast, two snacks, lunch and tea). These new items will be available to all of our nurseries (in all counties) to order via ZOO for delivery from 30 October. For our Surrey nurseries wishing to apply for the Eat Well Start Well award for their own setting, ordering these extra items will assist you to quickly and easily achieve the award.

Benefits of the award are:

➢The award is completely free.

➢Provides you with practical advice on your menus, recipes, portion sizes, ingredient preparation and cooking methods. Early years settings which use Zebedees as their meal provider will automatically fulfil much of this criteria.

➢Demonstrates to current and potential future parents/carers that you provide good nutrition for their children in your care.

➢Provides learning opportunities for staff e.g., menu planning skills, advice on how to support children to eat well, food safety, supporting fussy eaters, specialty diets and food allergies.

➢Provides you with a certificate to display as well as a logo to use for marketing.

➢Provides links to nutritional information.

➢Enables your business to be promoted on the Healthy Surrey website.

➢ Support and resources throughout the self-assessment process.

If you are based in Surrey and wish to apply, please contact our Client Services Team on 01323 811307 (Option 1) or email us at clientservices@zebedees.co.uk and we will put you in contact with the relevant team at Surrey County Council, who will arrange an appointment with you to discuss the application process.