Glasgow Higher and Further Education institutions gain Bronze sustainable catering award
Catering teams at Glasgow Caledonian University and City of Glasgow College have achieved a national award for serving fresh and sustainable menus, in a win for public sector food.
BaxterStorey, the hospitality provider for the locations, has achieved the Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) Bronze award for serving food that’s good for health, the environment and the local economy. Combined, these sites serve an estimated 222,000 meals each year.
The award was presented to BaxterStorey General Manager Alan Ratcliffe and Operations Manager Scott Nolan by Sarah Duley, Head of Food, Soil Association Scotland, at an event today at Glasgow Caledonian University in Glasgow.
The Food for Life Scotland (FFLS) programme, led by Soil Association Scotland and funded by Scottish Government since 2012, provides a framework through which local authorities and public sector sites can ensure they are serving good food. This is done by meeting a set of standards to achieve the FFLSH award at Bronze, Silver or Gold level.
The FFLS programme helps maximise the power of public sector food as a force for good and has achieved great success within the school meals sector, supporting local authorities to serve 23.5 million FFLSH certified school meals in Scotland in 2023. As well as the health benefits of serving freshly prepared food, the buying power of the public sector has huge potential to support sustainable suppliers, feed back into the local economy and develop resilient supply chains.
In 2022, FFLS launched the Food for Life Scotland Public Sector Expansion Pilot, with the aim of scaling the programme to bring the award to other public sector sites across Scotland. In 2024, this wider public sector focus has become a core part of the Food for Life Scotland programme.
Sarah Duley, Head of Food, Soil Association Scotland, said: “The BaxterStorey teams at Glasgow Caledonian University and City of Glasgow College do a fantastic job of connecting with local producers and developing their menus in line with the Food for Life Served Here Bronze award standards. We would like to thank them for all their hard work and for showing what can be achieved in public sector catering.
“We're delighted to see Higher and Further Education sites achieving the Food for Life Served Here award. The Food for Life Scotland team can offer support to public sector caterers across Scotland, to follow in the footsteps of both Glasgow Caledonian University and City of Glasgow College, as well as our 15 local authority award holders across Scotland.”
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Mairi Gougeon said: “I would like to congratulate BaxterStorey, Glasgow Caledonian University and the City of Glasgow College on achieving the Food for Life Served Here Bronze award.
“As the first Higher and Further Education locations to join the scheme as part of Food for Life Scotland’s expanded public sector focus, they really highlight how we can get more locally-sourced, fresh food to thousands of students, enhancing their educational experience and benefitting local suppliers.
“The Food for Life Served Here Award provides an important mechanism to achieve broader health, climate and economic goals. I would urge other public sector organisations to work with Food for Life Scotland to gain the award and help contribute to our ongoing efforts to make Scotland a Good Food Nation.”
Scott Nolan, Operations Manager, BaxterStorey Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be awarded the Food for Life Served Here Bronze Award for Glasgow Caledonian University and City of Glasgow College. I’m thrilled our teams have been recognised for their commitment to serving fresh, nutritious meals that promote health, sustain the environment, and support the local economy. We are continuously innovating our food offer and this award motivates us further to continue creating hospitality experiences that positively impact our customers and communities."