To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Elior Group, France’s leading contract caterer, has launched a contest offering 25 families the chance to win a one-year free canteen pass for their children. Elior has thus offered the opportunity to 25 guests, from nursery through to high-school grade, to win one-year of canteen catering. To win this contest, the families answered three simple questions and have been selected by the drawing of lots among good answers.

This contest was open to all families with one or several children who are having lunch the whole year in canteens where Elior is caterer in France. 25 winners among 9 000 contestants have been randomly drawn: 14 families in Île-de-France and 11 in the rest of France, 17 children from elementary school and 8 in middle school or high school.

For Elior that caters everyday 800,000 children in France, this contest gave us the opportunity to remind the educational role of the canteen, and the importance of the nutritional balance, taste quality and environmental respect,” explains Benoît Drillon, Managing Director of Elior for education in France.

The three questions of the contest were directly linked to three commitments to “the canteen of today”:

Launched by Elior France in September 2014, bon’App has more than 100,000 users. This is the 1st school-canteen catering app, designed to facilitate the everyday lives of families; access to menus, information about the 14 main allergens, online payment procedures…

Over the last five years, this campaign against food waste has touched 600,000 children and reduced food waste by 20-30%. Fun-based activities are organized allowing the children to actually visualize the amount of bread that is wasted every day. In its canteens, Elior ensures that children are served correct portions and fosters responsible eating habits among young people.

The courgette-chocolate cake has been elected best dessert! Elior puts the accent on culinary discoveries and on developing children’s taste buds and autonomy. To ensure the nutritional balance of meals, the Group recipes are elaborated by its chefs together with dieticians involved in the preparation and certification. Food tasting events are also organized to raise the awareness of children and adolescents to the importance of eating well and discovering different kinds of food and new savors.