Food for Life in the Shetland Islands
The Food for Life Scotland catering team recently spent two days of training with Shetland staff as they celebrate retaining the Food for Life Served Here Bronze Award for the third year in a row.
Congratulations to the catering teams and staff at Shetland Islands Council!
The training sessions are designed for Scottish local authorities who have a Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) award for their school meals service. In Shetland, the local authority has had the Bronze Award since 2021, with 2,000 meals served daily in primaries, junior highs and secondary schools.
After an introduction to the principles of ‘good food’ – food that’s good for health, good for the environment, and good for the local economy – attendees at the session took part in a range of interactive exercises introducing the 13 standards of the FFLSH Bronze award.
A selection of fresh fruit and vegetables for the training was kindly provided by Shetland-based Knowles Food Services, who provide the produce to schools across Shetland. Staff worked together to identify freshly prepared products, spot non-permitted additives in ingredients lists, and suggest seasonal swaps for popular recipes including crumbles and soups. The Food for Life Scotland staff were also taught a thing of two by the cooks – including how to lower the sugar content in the granola recipe even further.
Neil Beattie, Team Leader at Shetland Islands Council, said: “It was great to have our in-person Food for Life training session in August. The two-day sessions were brilliant for our cook’s morale and understanding, plus it was great for external voices telling them how fantastic they all are.
“It was also fantastic to show the Food for Life Scotland team a few of our schools, talk through some of the challenges we face, and share the great work being done in Shetland.”
The Shetland Islands have a long history of being self-sufficient due to their geography. Using food produced by the Island comes naturally and makes sense – and was one the Food for Life team applauded.
The milk used in the school settings is all local. Most of the bread comes from independent bakeries in the Islands’ communities. Shetland lamb and locally caught fish feature on the menus too. Fishing is a part of life in the Islands and a local fishmonger supplies to all the schools – fresh mackerel is one of the many bonuses of this location.
Neil explains the benefits: “In using local produce we’re providing jobs for our local communities. It goes around in a circle.”
The Food for Life Scotland team were really impressed with the energy from the attendees and their enthusiasm through all aspects of the course. The cooks produced some cracking dishes, and everyone’s culinary skills were great.
School menus that hold the FFLSH Bronze award are certified to be at least 75% freshly prepared from scratch using unprocessed ingredients. They use only free-range eggs, sustainable fish, and UK farm-assured meat, and contain no genetically modified ingredients, undesirable additives or artificial trans-fats.
The Food for Life Scotland team will continue to support Shetland on their journey. Thanks to Neil, Molly, Marlene, the Home Economics department and kitchen staff at Anderson High School, plus Knowles Food Service. Your help in preparing the session and over the two days was invaluable.
Get in touch with the team at Food for Life Scotland: contact@soilassociation.org to find out how your local authority can achieve the Food for Life Served Here award for its school meals.