EIGHT Herefordshire schools are getting their teeth into a new meals scheme that goes one up on Jamie Oliver.

The eight are not only the testing the kind of healthier menus cooked up by the celebrity chef, but also trying to get most of the food for them locally.

If they can, then the lessons learned will be fed into all Herefordshire schools over the next four years.

The Bulmer Foundation, set up by HP Bulmer in 2001 to support sustainable development schemes in the county, was working on a "fresh" approach to school meals before Jamie Oliver turned the heat on what was being served.

Project officer Peter Norton said the Oliver campaign and Herefordshire's bid to be a Fairtrade county boosted work that was underway last November.

Healthy

"Jamie Oliver showed how hard it was to get kids eating healthy food, we want them to do that and think about where it comes from - changing the culture as well as the menu," said Mr Norton.

This month four high schools - Haywood and Aylestone, in Hereford, Weobley and Lady Hawkins at Kington - and four primary schools - St Thomas Cantilupe, in Hereford, Bodenham, Ivington, and Marlbrook - started sampling:

l Menu development that makes fresh and seasonal food a priority.

l Supply policies that look to local sources for food first.

l Refurbished kitchen and dining facilities.

l Training for kitchen staff.

The biggest challenge was keeping up the consistency of quality and supply, said Mr Norton.

"Schools don't want too many deliveries, they want what they need in one go. So far, suppliers are saying that can get it, if asked," he said.

The scheme works with the principle of Herefordshire's Fairtrade County bid. In backing the bid, Herefordshire Council's cabinet wanted the core condition of guaranteed minimum prices covering the cost of production and basic wages, also applied to what was homegrown.