Get in touch
Contact the team at Food for Life Scotland today to find out how your local authority can achieve the Food for Life Served Here certification for its school meals.
How to apply for Food for Life Served Here
How to apply for the certification
The Food for Life Scotland team is here to support public sector caterers to achieve the Food for Life Served Here certification for their meals service. From buying list analysis, menu development, and free staff training, to pre-inspection support and marketing materials to publicise your new certification, we are here to help at every stage. And because the scheme is funded by Scottish Government, there is no cost to:
local authorities in Scotland interested in gaining the certification for their school meals service
public sector sites in Glasgow
Pre-Application Support
The first step towards gaining a Food for Life Served Here certification for your catering service is a benchmarking exercise. The Food for Life Scotland team will work with your Catering and Procurement staff to assess what requirements of the certification you are already meeting, and identify areas that do not currently meet Food for Life Served Here standards.
After completing the benchmarking, we will support you in developing an action plan to make any changes required to meet Food for Life Served Here standards. This could involve help with menu conversion, supply chain troubleshooting, or training sessions for frontline catering staff.
Application & Inspection
The Food for Life Scotland team will assist you in completing the application and compiling your online evidence folder. The Food for Life Served Here certification is assessed with an annual inspection and renewed accordingly.
How long does the process take?
The time it takes to achieve a Food for Life Served Here certification is different for every catering team, but, on average, the journey from gap analysis to inspection usually takes between six to twelve months.
Your Food for Life Served Here certification
Once you’ve achieved the Food for Life Served Here certification, we’ll help you celebrate with targeted marketing and press support to publicise your achievement. All certification holders will have access to ongoing support from the Food for Life Scotland team. Local authorities who achieve the certification for their school meals service will have access to advice and support from a network of peers via the Certification-Holder Working Group.
Useful resources
We have some free, downloadable resources for catering teams to see what support will be available to them.
I wouldn’t underestimate the help and support that the Soil Association gave to start us off. Having the FFLSH Gold award continues to give us credibility.
Food for Life is a journey, and the path gets easier and easier to follow. It’s very, very much worth it.