2024: Innovation starts on a local level: Food for Life Scotland on championing Scottish suppliers
Food for Life Scotland work with schools across the country to put good, sustainable, local food on the plate. Here, Louise Ramsay, Communications Officer, discusses the Food for Life Served Here award and their support for public sector catering staff to deliver more meals cooked from scratch.
To celebrate International School Meals Day, Food for Life Scotland is shining a light on the seasonal and local produce in Scottish schools as we aid the way to a future of sustainable nutrition.
Did you know that the Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) award is a nationally recognised mark of quality? We work with local authorities to ensure the delicious dishes they serve up are fresh, local and sustainable – and they’re good for health, the environment and the local economy.
In numbers, that is 125,000 school meals across Scotland every day, making a difference.
Schools that are certified with the Food for Life Served Here Award signal to parents and carers that pupils will be served award-winning dishes with ingredients that come straight from Scottish producers. The majority of the food on a FFLSH certified menu will be freshly prepared, and it will always be free from undesirable trans fats, sweeteners, and additives. Caterers making FFLSH certified meals use free-range eggs and meat that can be traced back to the farm, as well as ingredients from sustainable and ethical sources.
At Food for Life Scotland, we believe that everyone should have access to healthy and sustainable food that is good for the climate, nature, and health. Putting more good food on school meal plates supports thriving local communities. Research has shown that every £1 invested in Food for Life brings a social return on investment of £4.41.
Benefits of the FFLSH award
What’s more, by gaining the FFLSH award for their school meal services, local authorities are protecting the environment for the future by reducing food miles and championing sustainable producers – from the partnership supporting Mossgiel Organic farm on its journey to supplying milk to schools across East Ayrshire, to East Lothian upgrading to FFLSH Silver by buying local, organic Mungowells Flour.
As the climate crisis continues, buying from sustainable producers is increasingly important. At the same time, the cost-of-living crisis has increased pressure on catering teams to balance costs. Through analysing and adapting menus it is possible to fulfil both sets of priorities.
Through training days and ambassador programmes, Food for Life Scotland supports public sector catering staff to deliver more meals cooked from scratch. Ambassadors like Donald McInnes prioritised fresh ingredients and saw a footfall increase of 10 per cent, as pupils opted for the healthy options over high street alternatives. Going on to win Scottish School Chef of the Year, Donald’s story is a testament to the impact of good, fresh food in Scottish schools.
A pioneering collaboration
Food for Life Scotland provides support over the whole journey from farm to fork. From procurement and menu planning, to specialist data evaluation and communications support, the team is working with local authorities to help drive change at scale.
Innovating solutions to complex problems is part of our DNA. Our strong foundations were set with the pioneering collaboration between Soil Association, inspirational school cook Jeanette Orrey MBE, and Organix founder Lizzie Vann in 2003 when the Food for Life report was published. This groundbreaking report exposed the underinvestment and poor standard of food in schools across the UK, igniting a national conversation that continues to this day.
Food for Life’s work with local authorities, schools and early years remains central to the programme’s mission, reaching thousands of children across the UK and making good food the norm.
No matter the external environment, we know that good food is a right, not a privilege, and it shouldn’t cost the Earth. Children deserve equal access to good food and food education to build healthy habits for life, and the food environment should make it easy for everyone to eat healthy and sustainable food.
Working within such a complex food system, all those who have been involved with or supported Food for Life in the last 20 years, whether that’s as an employee, a caterer, a parent, a pupil, a community organiser, are crucial to making these changes from the ground up.
If your school is serving Food for Life Served Here certified school meals, you can be confident that the majority of the food on the menu will be freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients.
Find out if your local authority has the Food for Life Served Here award for its school meals.