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Tag: healthy eating
Top chef inspires city’s school cooks
Top Edinburgh chef and restaurateur Mark Greenaway took time away from cooking award-winning food to encourage the city’s school cooks to use and experiment more with fresh, seasonal and Scottish produce last week.
He was speaking at a Food for Life seminar in the City Chambers, organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and Food for Life Scotland, to launch the latest school menu – developed to meet the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark standards.
With the help of Food for Life Scotland, all Edinburgh schools are working towards the bronze standard, ensuring that more meals are freshly prepared using seasonal produce.
Achieving the prestigious award will make Edinburgh the first Scottish Local Authority to serve Catering Mark awarded meals in all school levels.
Mark was joined by Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds to commend all those involved in the Council’s bid, and to celebrate the important work that school cooks do in helping to nurture and nourish the capital’s school pupils.
Cllr Lesley Hinds said: “I’m sure Mark’s input, together with implementation of the Food for Life Catering Mark will help our school caterers build on the great work they already do in our schools using fresh, seasonal and Scottish produce. As a Council we have a strong commitment to sustainability and to providing fresh nourishing and locally sourced food across our facilities.
“Currie Community High School and Buckstone Primary School already have the bronze award and we need to keep up the momentum to achieve our goal of Edinburgh being the first local authority in Scotland to achieve this across the whole school sector.”
Mark said: “It was fantastic to see so many of the city’s school cooks in one place, sharing their experience of cooking and hearing about the changes being made to the menus which will allow them to serve more fresh and seasonal produce in Edinburgh’s schools. I think Food for Life Scotland has the potential to make a significant difference to food culture in schools and beyond, which will benefit all of us over time.”
Food for Life Scotland is working closely with City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Edinburgh Food for Life Partnership, a partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council, the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian which aims to embed a culture of real food change across the capital.
Three City of Edinburgh Council care homes already have the Bronze award – Clovenstone House, Marionville Court and Ferrylee.
Picture: Chef Mark Greenaway is joined by school cooks (left to right): Michelle Johnston (Ferryhill Primary), Julie Young (Currie Community High School), Jackie Montgomery (Dean Park Primary) and Lorna McKenna (Liberton High School).
Creative cookery on a budget at Craigie
We have a great cookery course at Craigroyston Community High School – the focus is on inexpensive, nutritious cooking for families – using only own brand items – and they make really delicious rissottos, thai curries and other tasty dishes all for a weeny weeny amount of money.
The course is free but we do ask for a £1.50 fee to pay each week towards ingredients. The idea is that participants come with containers and take away a substantial meal for a family of four – if there are more in the family, I am sure there would be enough food!
The tutor is very friendly, patient and helpful and very enthusiastic about cooking. If people can get here they will really enjoy and benefit from the class – and be assured of a good dinner on Wednesday nights!
Unfortunately we do not have a creche.
Craigroyston Community High School is on good bus routes – along Ferry Road or the 27 which comes down Pennywell Road.
If you would like to enrol, it can be done anytime online by clicking onto www.joininedinburgh.org and use the search box – put in Craigroyston Cook – and then just go through as with any online purchase, or you could telephone the school on 477 7801 to book.
The new cookery class starts on Wednesday 24 September, 6 – 7.30pm
The Joininedinburgh site has information about all the other classes all round the city as well – take a look, there are lots of new things to try!
Fiona Henderson, Craigroyston Community High School
Edible Edinburgh food plan served up in Muirhouse
Local growers, food groups, community gardeners and volunteers fashioned up a feast to celebrate the unveiling of the Edible Edinburgh Sustainable Food City Plan at Muirhouse Community Shop on Pennywell Road yesterday.
Developed in consultation with the public, the food plan aims to motivate Edinburgh to develop a healthy and sustainable approach to food, one which will bring social, economic and environmental benefits to the whole community – latest figures show that over two thirds of people across the Lothians eat less than the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day.
The six-year plan is based on feedback from the public and outlines six distinct themes which need to be addressed in order to achieve its vision of Edinburgh as a sustainable food city. These are: Health and wellbeing, Land use, Environment, Buying food, Economy and Cultural change.
A series of actions have been set out within each theme in order to work towards key outcomes, including more fresh and healthy food eaten, fewer people living in food poverty, the protection of our natural environment and a thriving local food economy.
Efforts will be coordinated by Edible Edinburgh, a cross-sector steering group from the public, private and third sectors, including City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian.
City of Edinburgh Council’s Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, who chairs the Edible Edinburgh steering group, welcomed the launch of the plan.
She said: “We are proud to be launching this plan in collaboration with our partners, who have worked with the public to ensure our vision and targets are realistic and relevant for achieving a sustainable food city for all.
“Food is central for everyone in Edinburgh, and there are a great many groups who work tirelessly towards a greener, fairer and healthier city. By building on their efforts we are determined to expand this enthusiasm to residents across the capital.”
Dr Margaret Douglas, consultant in public health medicine with NHS Lothian, added: “Edible Edinburgh’s vision is of ‘a city where good food is available for all.’ Healthy affordable food is essential for good health but for too many this is not yet a reality. Projects like Pilton Community Gardeners are showing the way by involving local people in growing healthy food and improving the local environment.
“We need change at many levels if the causes of diet-related ill health are to be tackled. Partnerships like Edible Edinburgh can help coordinate public, private, voluntary and community sector action to push for a fairer food city.”
Iain Stewart, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Community Food, said: “Community food groups play a vital role in addressing inequalities by getting local people involved in making good food available locally. At Edinburgh Community Food we support this effort by providing food and health promotion sessions and supplying food projects throughout the city with a range of healthy affordable food products.”
Big Kitchen food idea grows in Pilton
Wednesday follow up meeting to tackle local food poverty
Pilton Central Association recently held a very successful community meeting to discuss our response to the horrific figures on food poverty released by the Scottish Government, church groups, the Trussel Trust and the Red Cross.
The initiative of creating what has become known as the Big Kitchen restaurant/ cafe and the distribution system of food on sufficient scale to local people was endorsed. Over 40 representatives of local people, community gardeners, food banks, community centre representatives, Councillors and others agreed to pursue and make this a reality.
An open follow up meeting will take place
tomorrow at 1pm West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
to discuss the location of such a kitchen, it’s funding and the building of a community garden that would supply the Big Kitchen with fresh produce. All welcome.
Willie Black
Last chance to book World Cafe
Friday’s World Cafe (18 October) is shaping up to a great one, with Samba Sene providing some music
and a celebration of Black History Month.
The menu will include beans in coconut sauce, two types of curry and some apple crumble thanks to Abundance, who harvest fruit trees in people’s gardens for apples!
Places are limited so please call 0131 551 1671 to book your place and avoid disappointment! It costs £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.
The World Cafe’s at 5.30pm onwards at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, Muirhouse (next to the library).
It would be great if you could make it!
Hannah, Alice and the World Café team
Obesity: a growing crisis
One of the very few things that has shown steady and continuous growth since the war has been the Scottish waistline. Countless healthy eating initiatives have been introduced over the years – I’ve attended more initiative launches than I’ve had pie and beans lunches – yet Scotland’s problem with poor diet, obesity and the resultant chronic health issues remain as intractable as ever.
Two thirds of Scotland’s adults are classed as either obese or overweight, and a BBC Scotland special investigation to be screened tonight confirms that Scotland’s love affair with sugary and fatty foods grows unabated. That love affair costs Scotland’s NHS £200 million a year – and unless something is done to tackle this urgently the country faces a health crisis.
Statistics produced for ‘Scotland the Fat’ indicate that heath boards across the country have seen significant increase in obesity-related issues over the last ten years, with a marked increase in weight-loss surgical operations.
Research for the programme found that more and more Scots eat processed ready meals or takeaways at least three times a week, and that barely a quarter of Scots now cook for themselves every night. As ever the most worrying statistics were found in the most disadvantaged communities, where almost one in five (17%) said they did not cook a single evening meal from scratch.
In North Edinburgh, Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) established the Food For Thought Forum last year to address these very issues:
The Food for Thought Forum exists to bring together community food and growing initiatives, organisations, projects and individuals within the area of Greater Pilton, Edinburgh; and to support, promote, link and increase local community food activity.
Our Vision
The group believes everyone in North Edinburgh should have access to a tasty, enjoyable, nutritious diet. We want food to be a central part of our thriving community, bringing people together to grow, bake, cook and eat.
We want to see our community skilled and empowered to grow and cook good quality food for their families, friends and neighbours, and to see more local employment opportunities created in the production, distribution and preparation of the food we eat.
Our members are working towards aspects of this shared vision, and we believe that by working together we are stronger and better able to contribute to the flourishing of North Edinburgh.
Our key aims
- To share and pool our knowledge and resources around community food & health
- To use our collective resources to further develop a thriving local food culture
- To move towards an adaptable and resilient community by providing opportunities for local skills development
- To work together towards improving diet, food access, nutrition and health in Greater Pilton
Who can join?
Anyone involved or interested in community food or growing activity in Greater Pilton.
What does it involve?
- Attending regular local meetings
- Sharing ideas, knowledge and resources
- Contributing to the planning, promotion and coordination of events
- Signposting queries to appropriate forum members
- Regularly contributing to ongoing forum discussion
For further information about heathy eating and the Food for Thought Forum, contact Anita Aggarwal at Pilton Community Health Project on 551 1671
‘Scotland the Fat’ will be screened on BBC Scotland tonight at 8pm, and can be seen on BBC iPlayer for a further seven days.
BBC Scotland
Time to cook at Community Health Project
They take healthy eating very seriously at Pilton Community Health Project, but food can be a lot of fun too! Two new free opportunities to brush up your culinary skills are starting at Pilton Community Health Project on Boswall Parkway this week. Bon appetit!
Greens urge government to ensure school leavers can cook
Green MSP Alison Johnstone has urged the government to respond to a survey which shows a strong appetite among Scots for the Government to set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.
By contrast the major supermarkets, who already control three-quarters of our grocery spending, are encouraging the growth of the ready meals sector through advertising campaigns, broadcasts and billboards. The UK ready meal market, which has been at the centre of the horsemeat scandal, continues to grow at five per cent a year and is now worth £1 billion a year.
The Panelbase survey for the Scottish Greens shows 79 per cent of 1,000 Scots agreed with the need for a target for school leavers, while only 7 per cent disagreed.
Other research suggests the majority of 18-25 year olds leave home without the ability to cook a simple recipe such as Spaghetti Bolognese, with many relying on ready meals and takeaways.
Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and spokesperson on food and education for the Scottish Greens (pictured below), said: “We have a growing problem with obesity and ready meals are nutritionally haphazard. It’s time the Scottish Government challenged the big manufacturers and retailers. The inconvenient truth about many convenience foods is they make big firms big profits while public health pays dearly.
“Curriculum for Excellence has great potential and I would urge the government to recognise the appetite there is for ensuring school leavers are able to cook. As more people question what’s in the food they’re buying due to the horsemeat scandal it’s important we establish a balanced food culture from the start.”
The survey, carried out online by Panelbase in March, asked:
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The Scottish Government should set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.
The results were:
Agree Strongly 48%
Agree Slightly 31%
Neither Agree/Disagree 15%
Disagree Slightly 4%
Disagree Strongly 3%
Horsemeat: Amey apology ‘not enough’
AMEY, the private contractor responsible for providing school meals to a number of primary schools where mince containing horsemeat may have been served to children, has apologised to the City of Edinburgh Council and parents for ‘an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication’. The company has also made a donation to a children’s charity, but parents say the apology just doesn’t go far enough and questions must be answered.
The city council wrote to parents after results of its own tests on a batch of frozen mince taken in late February from the shared kitchen of Pirniehall and St David’s Primary Schools were confirmed, assuring them that there was no risk to their children’s health. Local primaries Craigroyston and Forthview were also among the schools affexted.
Amey Built Environment (Amey) has since responded to a request by the City of Edinburgh Council to explain why they failed to notify the Council of the presence of horsemeat in beef mince which they had used in school meals in six school kitchens on 8 March, and when they themselves were first alerted to the fact by their supplier, 3663.
The company has also provided a list of meals containing beef mince which were on the menu at each school in the five-week period between w/c 3 February 2013 and w/c 4 March 2013 and which may have contained mince from the affected batch which was later recalled by 3663.
During this period, one week was a holiday. This information, together with a statement of explanation and apology from Amey, has been included in a letter which was sent to parents in the six affected schools on 4 April.
Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “As soon as we became aware through our own tests that mince containing a small percentage of horsemeat had been supplied to a number of our schools, we immediately took action by contacting parents to let them know. We also checked each of the school kitchens to make sure there was no mince from this batch remaining.
“It was only after we raised the issue with Amey that they advised us that this same batch had in fact been recalled by 3663 on 8 March. “It is unacceptable that the Council was not given this information immediately – had we known on 8 March, we could and would have alerted parents to this at that time. We are pleased that Amey have now apologised for this lack of communication and are grateful to them for their cooperation in this matter.
“Parents are quite right to expect the highest possible standards from the food their children are served at school and the Council prides itself on providing meals which are nutritious, satisfying and value-for-money. It is absolutely crucial therefore that any problems with the produce supplied to our school kitchens are flagged up to us immediately so that we can take appropriate action.”
Gillian Duggan, Managing Director of Amey Built Environment, said: “Recently we have commenced an investigation into how contaminated meat made its way into our supply chain at a date between February 2013 and 8 March 2013. Tests have revealed that a small amount of contaminated meat containing up to 5% horse DNA was served to six schools in Edinburgh before a product recall notice was issued by the meat supplier on 8 March 2013.
“Although checks confirmed no current stock of the contaminated meat in any of the premises, there has been an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication from Amey to the City of Edinburgh Council regarding this issue. This resulted in a delay in the Council being able to notify parents. We at Amey are very sorry this issue has occurred, and for any distress caused to parents, who quite rightly expect high standards.”
Ms Duggan added that Amey would be making a donation to the Scottish NSPCC on behalf of the schools affected and added that the company would be undertaking a review of its supply chain and an enhancement of their communication and escalation procedures.
However the apology and charity donation are not enough according to some parents. One West Pilton mother, with two children at a local primary school – who preferred not to be named – said: “Everyone’s been talking about it and I think most parents are disgusted with what has happened. You expect your bairns to get good quality dinners at school so this is really shocking – it’s like a breach of trust. Everybody wants to know how long this has been going on – I think parents have got a right to know, we deserve answers. It’s very easy to say ‘sorry’ and making a donation to charity is easy for a big organisation like AMEY – they must make a fortune out of the PPP school contracts so that charity donation is sweeties for them.”
