Food for Life

Soil Association Scotland’s Food for Life campaign was launched in October 2003.  The aim of the project is to transform the food on the public plate in accordance with Food for Life targets, with ingredients that are:

• 75% unprocessed
• 50% local
• 30% organic

Food for Life works with caterers across a number of sectors, including local authority and private school meal providers, hospitals, nurseries, sports stadia, workplace canteens and restaurants.

Much of the work to date has been with local authority catering services, to improve the quality of Scotland's school meals. Food for Life is now widely recognised as leading the way on the provision of fresh, local and organic food in Scotland's schools. The project also works with schools to improve food education.

East Ayrshire now has 26 schools in their Food for Life project. Highland Council has two Food for Life schools - Strathpeffer and Strathgarve. North Ayrshire has started the pilot in all 8 schools on the island of Arran. Five other local authorities are at an early stage of working towards Food for Life.

We also have pilot projects in two prestigious catering establishments:

• Celtic Football Club launched a Food for Life children's menu at their Number 7 Restaurant in November 2006, with a view to extending the health message into the local community. It has been well received and endorsed at the launch by children from local schools.
• In March 2007, Edinburgh University Students Association launched its Food for Life pilot at the newly named Cafe Senses in the David Hume Tower and are extending it to other student cafes, following an instant increase in uptake of the new menu which uses local and organic products.

Soil Association Scotland held a Food for Life conference in Glasgow in June 2007 at Celtic Park entitled What's for Lunch? Putting Food at the Heart of the Curriculum.

Case Studies 

Highlands and Islands

The Scottish Highlands and Islands cover an area the size of Belgium. It has a population of 211,300 and undoubtedly boasts some of the most spectacular and unspoiled scenery in the world, as well as some of the most delicious local produce.

Within the Highlands there are 184 primary schools, 29 secondary schools and 6 special schools. The Catering Service forms an integral part of the Education Culture and Sport Services, providing approximately 15,000 meals a day with an average uptake of 50%. A total of 700 members of staff are employed mainly on a part time basis.

In addition the Service provides: lunch clubs, catering at Inverness Sports Centre, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Highland Hospice, The Glen (social work day centre) and ad hoc catering ranging from morning coffee to banquets.

The Food for Life pilot was launched at Strathpeffer and Strathgarve Primary Schools during Organic Week in September 2005, with meat and fish from the Highlands, as used in all Highland schools, and locally produced organic eggs, fruit and vegetables.

Claire Taylor, Education Officer for Soil Association Scotland has done workshops and visits to a local organic farm with the children from both schools.

East Ayrshire

In August 2004 East Ayrshire Council's in-house school meals service set out develop a sustainable school meals service that is relevant in social, economic and environmental terms. They adopted the 'Food for Life' framework in schools where at least 75% of food is made from unprocessed ingredients; more than 50% is locally sourced and at least 30% is organic.

School food is uniquely placed to deliver an important health improvement and sustainability agenda, which can produce benefits beyond the public health goals of Scottish Executive's 'Hungry for Success'.

• The school meals service contributes to the local economy and local employment
• Children enjoy fresher, healthier food
• Parents and teaching staff enjoy unrivalled confidence in the quality and provenance of food and menus
• Local producers are enthusiastic and involved with schools
• As a result, school meal uptake levels have risen in some of the schools by as much as 25%

In September 2005, Hurlford Primary School, East Ayrshire's first Food for Life pilot school, won the Soil Association Food for Life School of the Year Award. In the same year, East Ayrshire also won The Guardian Hayes Public Service Award for its school meals service. There are now 26 schools in the Food for Life project in East Ayrshire, making it the flagship for Food for Life in Scotland.

Clyde Organics

Clyde Organics was started five years ago when Murray and Jane Brown tried to improve the marketing of the produce from their family run organic dairy farm in the Clyde Valley. They retail and wholesale their milk and cream which is pasteurised nearby and delivered throughout Scotland. They are Soil Association certified.

In August 2004, they were asked to supply milk in 250 ml bottles for Hurlford Primary School in East Ayrshire, the first Food for Life pilot to be established in Scotland. They were helped and encouraged by SOMPA (Scottish Organic Milk Producers Association) and Soil Association Scotland to sort out a new processing partnership with Banally Farm near Edinburgh. The design of the new label was inspired by drawings submitted by children of Hurlford Primary School.

When the Food for Life pilot was rolled out to another ten schools in East Ayrshire in June 2005, Clyde Organics was asked to supply milk to all of them. They have also put in a tender to supply organic yoghurt and ice-cream from two small businesses alongside the milk – a good example of how producers can work together to fulfil the requirements of the catering service. The number of schools involved in Food for Life in East Ayrshire has increased in 2007 to 26, all of which are supplied with organic milk by Clyde Organics.

Clyde Organics also supply milk to the two Highland Primary Schools, Strathpeffer and Strathgarve, which started their Food for Life pilot in April 2005. Distance is a problem here, but there are no other small-scale organic milk suppliers in the area yet. We are hoping to develop a similar project in the Highlands, with organic milk and cheese producers local to our pilot schools, using the experience of Clyde Organics.