Devon school dinners win a Soil Association award for quality

By PRSD, on Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Hurrah, for school dinners! Devon has actually won an accolade for providing healthy and wholesome meals for kids at lunchtime, picking up a Soil Association’s Food for Life Catering Mark on the way.

It may seem like a no-brainer but Devon is only the third school meals’ provider in the country to win a Food for Life Award ‘across the whole service at this level’.

To win the award (which was bronze, but we’re reassured they are close to silver), Devon had to prove:
· At least 75 per cent of dishes on the menu are freshly prepared
· Meat is farm assured as a welfare minimum
· Eggs are from free range hens
· More than a third of produce is locally sourced
· Menus are seasonal and in-season produce is highlighted
· Menus cater well for all dietary needs in the school population
· No undesirable additives or hydrogenated fats are used

Joanna Lewis, policy manager at the Soil Association, told the PRSD: “The Food for Life Catering Mark has been launched in response to public concern about the implications of ‘cheap food’ for health, animal welfare and the environment.

“It gives caterers across the public and private sectors a way of proving their commitment to the freshly prepared, ethically sourced food that customers are asking for.

“When eating out, people want reassurance that their food, and their children’s food, is fresh, honest and additive-free.

“They want to know that the issues they care about, from animal welfare to climate change, have been taken care of.

“The Soil Association’s Food for Life Catering Mark helps leading caterers give their customers that reassurance.”

posted by Cptn

Can we afford freshly prepared, ethically sourced food?

.
.
Sign up to the FREE People’s Republic of South Devon newsletter.