Posted on: Friday 19 December 2025
This December, Torfaen Council’s catering team have been serving up festive joy, plating more than 7,000 Christmas turkey dinners at schools across the borough.
Close to one tonne of turkey and three tonnes of vegetables have been prepared – that’s equivalent to roughly the combined weight of all nine of Santa’s reindeer.
Zakk, a Year 4 pupil at Cwmffrwdoer Primary School, who had his meal on Wednesday, said: “I loved my Christmas pudding and custard, it was the best."
Amelia, a Year 11 pupil at Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw, said: "The music and atmosphere in the dinner hall was lovely to walk into, and the meal was amazing. The best part had to be the desserts."
The service also catered for multiple school Christmas parties and arranged a festive feast for Armed Forces veterans in Cwmbran.
Tracy James, Torfaen Catering Service Senior Operations Manager, said: “Another amazing effort from catering and school staff throughout the county. Our catering staff are very well versed in dealing with hundreds of school lunches on a daily basis, but Christmas Lunch is always that one special day where they go the extra mile."
Over the past two years, Torfaen Catering has partnered with the University of Edinburgh to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of school menus.
They have managed to cut emissions by around one-third per kilo of food served – all while increasing pupil choice and delivering a new sustainable food road map.
The team have also been part of the Welsh Veg in Schools pilot project which aims to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across Wales.
Councillor Richard Clark, Executive Member for Children, Families and Education, added: “Our award-winning catering service does a fantastic job all year round. Their commitment to locally sourced, sustainable food not only benefits pupils but also supports our pledge to reduce Torfaen’s carbon footprint.”
“I’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and look forward to welcoming pupils and teachers back refreshed and ready for the New Year.”
Find out what’s on the menu in the New Year by visiting the council’s website.