The City of Edinburgh Council has become the first council in Scotland to achieve the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark award for all its schools.
The award-winning menus feature even more freshly prepared meals, made with seasonal and local produce as well as only farm-assured meat and free range eggs.
The three organisations that cater for Edinburgh’s schools – the Council’s in-house catering service, Amey and Chartwells – have been working with Soil Association Scotland for several months to ensure that all school menus across the city meet the bronze standards. This ensures dishes contain no harmful additives and that at least 75% of dishes are freshly prepared.
The bronze award comes at an important time for school food in Edinburgh, with free school meals for P1 – P3 pupils having just been launched and school meal uptake higher than for many years.
Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “It’s so important for our young people to learn about how food relates to issues such as health, the economy and our environment.
“Schools in Edinburgh are already working hard to achieve this and the Food for Life Catering Mark award helps demonstrate the vital role cooks can play in helping pupils understand the importance of good food.
“The bronze award is a fantastic achievement, and I think it’s important to note that this has been delivered in conjunction with the service delivering a free school meal to P1-3s. Not only are we delivering free school meal to our youngest pupils, but a better school meal to all our pupils.”
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, added: “Achieving the Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark award for Edinburgh’s school food is an important way for us to reassure parents and pupils that school food providers in the city care deeply about the quality of the service they offer.
“I think there truly is no better option for lunch than a nutritionally-balanced school meal, and our cooks can be proud of serving fresh, tasty food to young people across the city.”
Soil Association Scotland’s Director, Laura Stewart said: “Achieving the Food for Life Catering Mark award across all Edinburgh schools has been a challenge for everybody involved, but what an achievement it is.
“How fantastic to think that every morning, in schools across the capital, hundreds of cooks are freshly preparing tens of thousands of meals using quality produce, helping to ensure that Edinburgh’s young people can benefit from fresh, tasty and nutritious food at school.”
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