The programme and features at the Main Event will address the disparities in school meals funding across the nations and explore strategies to ensure that all children and young people receive the very best school food to support their growth and learning.
It has never been more important to establish common ground and a collective voice on the importance of school food and the growing pressures operators are facing to provide this vital service.
The ever-popular LACA Live returns with cookery demonstrations taking place in Hall 1 on Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th July.
View LACA Live Programme
Our informative Workshop Sessions will run on Tuesday morning with practical, interactive sessions.
View the Workshop Programme
Main Event Delegate Programme
The programme below outlines the closed sessions which are only accessible for delegates.
Tuesday 8 July 2025
9.30 |
School Food Show exhibition opens - Hall 1 and 2 |
10.30 |
Workshop Sessions, Arden Suite |
10.30 |
Workshop 1: Allergen School update and case studies - Jan Parnell and Olivia Oakley, NARF |
11.00 |
Workshop 2: Ultra Processed Foods or Home Grown Veg? - Stephen Forster This is not about demonising UPFs (or their manufacturers) it's about sharing a greater understanding of how we have come to rely upon food products that have come to shape our industry, our bodies and our lives. Delegates are asked to keep a Food Diary for a week prior to attending - detailing all that they consume with a red star against anything they consider UPF. Following the Workshop we will progress discussion to examine the percentage of UPFs we are using in our sector and consider how this sits with the recent DEFRA announcement about using British Produce in schools we serve. |
11.30 |
Workshop 3: LACA Ask the Experts - Michael Hales, LACA National Vice Chair; Brad Pearce, LACA Vice Chair; Bryan Lygate, LACA Board member |
12.00-14.30 |
Lunch & exhibition viewing Halls 1 & 2 |
12.15 |
LACA Live, Hall 1: Partner demo - Quorn |
13.15 |
LACA Live, Hall 1: Savvy with store cupboard ingredients - Zoe Gill and Cathy Amos, Brakes |
14.00 |
LACA Main Event sessions begin - Kings Suite Introduction to Main Event 2025 including the Year in Focus |
14.15 |
Chair's welcome |
14.40 |
Four Nations – State of the Nation |
15.40 |
Managing Scope 1 & 2 emissions and saving schools £millions - Dr Sam Mudie |
16.10 |
Keynote session - Why calories don't count - Professor Giles Yeo |
17.00 |
Forum day one closes |
19.30 |
LACA informal icebreaker evening, Kings Suite |
Wednesday 9 July 2025
8.30 |
LACA Forum delegate registration opens - hotel and hall 2 foyers |
9.30 |
Forum day two opens |
9.45 |
National Governance Association (NGA) – monitoring a whole-school approach to food - Ella Colley
|
10.15 |
How the UK school food service fairs in a good food revolution and in a global school food context - Professor Don Bundy and Professor Kevin Morgan |
11.00 |
ParentPay Research 2025 & the LACA Survey Updates - Speaker tbc, ParentPay and Judith Gregory, LACA National Chair |
11.25 |
Mental health – spotting the signs and supporting your colleagues - Charlie Hodson, Hospitality Action |
12.00 |
Lunch and exhibition viewing including LACA Live in Hall 1 |
12.00 |
LACA Live - Hall 1: LACA Grab 'N' Go Winner sponsored by SchoolGrid |
12.45 |
LACA Live - Hall 1: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall |
13.45 |
LACA Live - Hall 1: Eva Humphries – Whole Food Warrior |
14.30 |
Main Event resumes resume - Kings Suite |
14.30 |
The value and challenges of local sourcing |
15.20 |
Resilience and coping with Change - Victoria Humphries |
15.50 |
Keynote - Future food trends - Dr Morgaine Gaye Food is a complex topic which uses all indicators as a lens through which to see what’s to come. It involves society, behaviour, geo-politics, culture, belief, history, trends, fads, art, marketing, sensorial perceptions, biology and, in fact, almost everything! |
16.35 |
Finishing Touches 2025 |
16.45 |
Forum day two closes; exhibition ends |
19.00 |
Drinks Reception, Pavillion Suite |
19.30 |
LACA Awards for Excellence Dinner, Kings Suite |