School lunch

• The menus are prepared according to a varied and balanced diet. SANED (BFIS' lunch service provider) has a research team and nutritionists that design varied healthy menus with different options for vegetarians and people with food allergies.

  The monthly menu is confirmed by the school, taking into account the preferences of the majority of the families. The most important things are the quality of the products and that the menu is healthy, nutritious and varied.

Everything is cooked at school. The food arrives unprocessed to BFIS and the menu is prepared in the school kitchen. The vegetables and fruits are fresh and bought locally.

Bread dough is not made at school; it comes straight from the bakery and is baked in the school kitchen every morning. The bread is also organic and there is a white and integral variety.

There is a menu designed for each day and it is available on the website, which also suggests some dinner options at home so that the daily menu of the students is as complete as possible.

At the school, there is always a vegetarian option and a grilled meat/ fish option. The salad buffet is large. Cereals such as rice and pasta are served with separate sauces and can be substituted for vegetables. The salad buffet also offers different options.

At the school we always use virgin olive oil for the preparation of grilled dishes, oven or stews. For the fryers we used high oleic sunflower, which has a composition of fats very similar to the fat of olive oil. Its composition of fatty acids is mostly monounsaturated.

All the vegetables and fruits supplied to the school come from SANED’s purchasing center, which is dedicated to choosing the best farmers and lands of the Maresme and Catalonia for each product, and collecting daily the products that are served directly from the orchard to Benjamin Franklin.

All the farmers and farms linked to SANED have the following characteristics:

• Cultivation that respects the environment
• Natural fertilizers
• Pollination with bees
• Sustainable operations
• Natural pesticides

All the beef and pork that we serve in the school canteen is organic and Veritas certified CCPAE (Consell Català de la Producció Agrària Ecològica) that certifies the organic production of Catalan farms.

Cold meat comes from Viñals Gourmet, a family business located in Argentona. This company supplies the veal, pork and lamb that we use in the preparation of our gourmet menus.

The cattle are from their own and associated farms, located in the best cattle regions of Catalonia and Aragon. The breeding takes place in farms and “masías” in the traditional way of Catalonia, putting attention to their natural diet.

In the year 2000, Viñals obtained the certification from the Ministry of Health and Consumption and from the Department of Agriculture, Raising and Fishing of the Generalitat of Catalonia authorizing the CARNROSADA quality mark, which ensures the QUALITY and PURITY of the meats served at the school.

The chicken that is cooked at school is Pio Rei from the Galliner de escorxador Torrent, located in Mataró. The meat comes from slow-growing breeds with a 100% vegetable diet and enriched with vitamins, minerals and omega-3.

Our poultry supplier is Escorxador d'Aus Moré, located in Argentona (Barcelona, Spain). The chicken has to meet strict requirements: raised free, minimum of 81 days, and a diet composed entirely of vegetables: 80% corn, 15% vegetable protein (including rapeseed and sunflower seeds), and 5% of minerals, trace elements and vitamins, as well as insects and weeds found naturally in the forest.

Monthly we offer fresh fish from the Catalan markets.

The fish served at the school is frozen, but we make sure that it is of the highest quality and that it is deep-frozen directly on the boat.

Among frozen fish, nutritionists point out that the best quality is that of deep-frozen fish. When the fish is caught in the open sea it is processed and frozen immediately, at a -40º  C in a matter of a few hours. This procedure reduces natural oxidation and preserves freshness, preventing microbial growth and loss of nutrients.

They are all ecological

Cereals such as rice or pasta are refined, as it is usually the type of food that students like the most. We have tried to introduce whole grains with little success.

Although it should be noted that the following products used in our menus are ecological:

• Dried vegetables (chickpeas, beans, lentils)
• Rice (white and integral) - DO Delta del Ebro
• Dry pasta (macaroni, noodles, spaghetti ...)
• Flour
• Breadcrumbs
• Pasta: we like to alternate organic pasta with traditional Italian pasta and whole-wheat pasta

We offer picnic food service so that students can take it on field trips or outings from the school. The pack consists of boxes with a portion of pasta salad, couscous or rice, vegetable nuggets/chicken fingers accompanied with potatoes, a piece of fruit, homemade cake and juice. The picnic packaging is all recyclable and/or compostable.

We have a healthy breakfast and snack service based on fresh fruits, dairy products and cereals. They are complemented by low-sugar homemade desserts made in an artisan way in the school kitchen.

No additives are used in the dishes prepared in the kitchen. Everything is cooked with olive oil, salt and spices. Nor do we use any type of flavor enhancer (meat concentrates, broths etc).

No. Usually there is not much food left over, but it is very difficult to have zero.

Until now, you could not do much due to sanitary legal reasons. The excess of food was discarded. Due to the restrictions imposed from the Health Department, the cooked food that was left over could not be donated to any organization up to now. However, SANED has signed an agreement with an NGO that has developed a process accepted/certified by the health department  through which all the food left over can be packaged and frozen in the school kitchen until the NGO comes to collect it once a week, and  distributes it to charitable organizations and soup kitchens.

The price is lower than that of most international schools and that of many schools in Barcelona.

The cost of the menu finances, not only the cost of our lunch service provider, but also all the costs of lunch service management, kitchen and cafeteria maintenance, utilities, etc. 

Another aspect to consider is that BFIS is a foundation, it does not belong to any fund or private entity, so all the surplus that is generated from the services offered is invested again into the school (in the academic program, professional development, facilities, etc.).