Food for Life
Inspired by the famous school dinner lady Jeanette Orrey, the Soil Association founded Food for Life in 2003 to improve school meals and thereby improve the health and well-being of school children throughout the UK.
Food for Life Scotland is one of Soil Association Scotland’s key programmes of work, supported by the Scottish Government. The project aims to transform food culture in communities throughout Scotland through supporting the production and enjoyment of good food that is healthy, sustainable and accessible to all. Food for Life Scotland is a holistic delivery model which promotes access, sustainability and education:
- Access is about equality. Everyone, regardless of their age, background and where they live should be able to get local, fresh and organic food which is affordable and reflects the ethnic make-up of their communities.
- Sustainability is about creating resilient, localised food systems, which support local economies and reduce food’s carbon footprint and ecological footprint.
- Education is about transforming people’s attitude to food, which enables them to make informed food choices, grow and cook their own food, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
A major strand of Food for Life Scotland’s work is to support caterers in Scotland to achieve the Soil Association’s Food for Life Catering Mark. The Catering Mark is a UK-wide certification scheme recognising a caterer’s commitment to serving good, healthy and sustainable food. The scheme has become an incredibly powerful tool, helping to change food culture in public institutions and restaurants throughout the UK. Over 100 million Catering Mark meals are served in schools, nurseries, hospitals, universities and restaurants every year in the UK.
In England the Food for Life Partnership was developed in 2006 between Soil Association, Garden Organic, Focus on Food, and Health Education Trust. The partnership project received a £16.9M grant from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver a five year initiative to transform food culture and health in schools and communities throughout England. The Good Food for All report brings together evidence of the positive impacts of the Food for Life Partnership.