The annual survey on family satisfaction with the catering service of provincial nursery schools located in the Municipality of Trento was proposed for the first time. In May, every family enrolled in one of the 22 nursery schools in the municipal area was invited to participate in the survey. The reference sample is made up of the 1,486 families of children attending during the period of collection of the questionnaires and of those who, despite having completed their education cycle early, nevertheless attended for a period of time. Children who, for various reasons, were entrusted to reception centres, social cooperatives or associations were excluded from the survey. 1,100 families participated. The response rate is 74%.
The survey covered various aspects related to the service, ranging from the level of satisfaction with the information provided to users of the same up to the overall evaluation of the meal. Satisfaction emerges on all aspects covered by the survey: the average overall satisfaction (on a scale from 1 to 4) is equal to 3.4 and this denotes a high quality of the service offered.
The votes
Considering the responses in terms of average satisfaction, the aspects that are among the most appreciated are the availability and assistance provided by the municipal offices (3.6) and the digitalisation of information (3.5). The indicator relating to the level of satisfaction with the information present on the institutional website of the Municipality of Trento is more critical (3.2). Overall the service in general is still very much appreciated. The level of all indicators is higher than 3 including those that refer to the variety of foods offered (3.3), the quality of the foods offered (3.4) and the service generally provided (3.4).
The level of satisfaction indicators is reflected in the analysis of the observations and suggestions that the survey participants were able to provide in order to capture the aspects considered by individual families to be less satisfactory. In most cases, the lack of conciseness of the information on the institutional website and the lack of variety in the meals were brought to the attention of the Administration.
Rotating menus
Regarding the variety of foods offered, the Childhood Services and Education Service will introduce for the next school year 2024/2025 a single pre-established menu rotating over 5 weeks according to seasonality for all nursery schools. This choice was shared with the survey participants who out of a total of 1,100 responded positively in 805 (73.20 percent). The choice to introduce a single menu, as well as guaranteeing the same quality level of the catering service to all the boys and girls attending the provincial nursery schools located in the Municipality of Trento, makes it possible to know in advance the menu planned for the entire school year. It will also make possible better planning and rationalization of food supplies as well as a greater reduction in food waste. Finally, it will already be possible to collect some precious suggestions received which proposed to make known, day by day, the menu planned for the individual day through the app used for managing the virtual profile.
Hoping to maintain the high level of satisfaction found with the first annual survey on satisfaction with the restaurant service in the future, further observations and suggestions will be used for the purpose of constant and trend improvement of the service offered.
