The Soil Association has served up a bronze award to the City of Edinburgh council for the quality of their catering in primary, secondary and special schools. The Food for Life Catering Mark is considered a prestigious recognition for the menus devised for schools and the quality of the food served,
There are more freshly prepared meals featuring seasonal and local produce as well asa only farm-assured meat and free range eggs.
There are three organisations providing school meals in Edinburgh: the council’s in house catering service, Amey and Chartwell and they have been working along with Soil Association Scotland to get to the bronze standard.
The meals provided are free of additives and at least three quarters of them are freshly prepared.
Earlier this month P1 to P3 pupils started getting free school meals and so the council is providing more meals each school day than it did before.
Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “It’s so important for our young people to learn about how food relates to issues such as health, the economy and our environment.
“Schools in Edinburgh are already working hard to achieve this and the Food for Life Catering Mark award helps demonstrate the vital role cooks can play in helping pupils understand the importance of good food.
“The bronze award is a fantastic achievement, and I think it’s important to note that this has been delivered in conjunction with the service delivering a free school meal to P1-3s. Not only are we delivering free school meal to our youngest pupils, but a better school meal to all our pupils.”
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, added: “Achieving the Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark award for Edinburgh’s school food is an important way for us to reassure parents and pupils that school food providers in the city care deeply about the quality of the service they offer.
“I think there truly is no better option for lunch than a nutritionally-balanced school meal, and our cooks can be proud of serving fresh, tasty food to young people across the city.”
Soil Association Scotland’s Director, Laura Stewart said: “Achieving the Food for Life Catering Mark award across all Edinburgh schools has been a challenge for everybody involved, but what an achievement it is.
“How fantastic to think that every morning, in schools across the capital, hundreds of cooks are freshly preparing tens of thousands of meals using quality produce, helping to ensure that Edinburgh’s young people can benefit from fresh, tasty and nutritious food at school.”
Our photo shows Councillor Lesley Hinds and Councillor Paul Godzik with Liberton High School S6 pupils Chris Cham and Rebecca Smith.
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I think the award given should be taken back after the lump of animal fat my son’s grandmother took out his cake that was served to him in his packed lunch on Friday the 11th September.
It’s lucky that she noticed the lump of meaty fat that was baked into the cake and stopped him from eating the cake otherwise he could have become very sick.
This report should be published so other parents can check there childrens lunches on a Friday so as there not served the vile cake my son was served,I have the cake to prove what I’m saying and I am taken it into show the school and request it to be taken further.thanks very angry mum
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