Site Stories: Highland celebrates 15 years of Food for Life

Despite the challenges of serving Scotland's largest geographical council area, including some of the most sparsely populated parts of the UK, Highland Council has successfully maintained the Food for Life Served Here award for its primary school meals since 2009. 

And the benefits go beyond the food on the plate - the Food for Life Served Here award links directly to the Highland Outcome Improvement Plan to 2027, delivering on outcomes and priorities around diversifying the economy, improving markets, and tackling unemployment. 

For caterers like Annette Burfoot, based on the Isle of Skye, the biggest joy comes from feeding smiling pupils, no matter what. 

“My priority is to ensure every child has something they feel they can eat each day,” she says. “If it’s something I wouldn’t eat, how can I expect pupils to try it?” 

Annette’s determination to provide a school meal service for Skye’s young people stems from her family history, as her mum was a school cook for 46 years.  

“I would be the little person in the kitchen at 7am, helping out by cracking eggs into the bowl,” she says. “Serving delicious food is in my blood and I’ve been in catering for over 30 years – I moved to Skye after working in event catering, where I worked at a residential home until I moved over to the school meal service. People joke I swapped the dying for the living!” 

Annette is one of the caterers across Highland Council who, together, are serving more than 11,611 nutritious, sustainable and locally-sourced Food for Life meals in 161 primary schools and 166 nurseries every day. Through her work she has been recognised with Highland Council’s Employee of the Year 2018 Award for her commitment to promote healthy eating and for inspiring pupils to get involved from “plot to plate”.  

Putting good food on the plate 

In Broadford Primary, where Annette is based, the pupils grow potatoes, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, courgettes, beans, sprouts, kale, leeks and radishes, which are all used in the school meals to provide salads, vegetable accompaniments and even kale chips. Annette started the school garden as a way of connecting students to food and the natural world – whilst the pandemic halted measures to grow the project further amid staff shortages, she is enthusiastic the pupil's passion for good food has continued. 

In fact, Annette regularly asks pupils to share their thoughts on the school menu – with her crumble proving to be a fan favourite. 

“There are ex-pupils I see in Skye, who’s own children are now in school, still asking me about my crumble!” she laughs. “Creating dishes people love, especially after all these years, is such a joy. 

“The biggest satisfaction I get is a smiling face and a clean plate. It’s lovely to be recognised for my work, but for me, I’m just doing my job. The biggest win is and always will be the kids – knowing I’ve made a difference to their day, when it may be the one hot meal they get that day – that feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment will never be topped.” 

With a nickname of Mother Hen, it’s clear that the children come first for Annette and this fuels her determination to cook things from scratch. 

“You won’t find anything in my kitchen made from a packet,” she says. “While it may be different when working in a bigger school, here on Skye I can do things freshly prepared. I even make my own pizza bases which the kids love.  

“I’m currently trialling making my own burgers too!” 

 “Annette’s proactive role within her school is the very heart of what our school meals are all about,” says Catering Services Manager Sue Nield, who nominated Annette for Employee of the Year said. “Her relationship with staff and children is inspirational. With her encouragement, pupils are eating and enjoying a wide variety of foods. One of the favourite vegetables on the menu is kale - it’s the way she cooks it and crisps it up which the pupils love! She is always willing to do the best that she can in supporting her school and the whole community.” 

 Annette’s dedication to providing delicious, freshly prepared food has led to an increased uptake in school meals. She also includes pupils and parents in the process of deciding new dishes. On Parents’ Evening, Anette will set up a stand for parents to go up, ask her questions and see the school meals. Some parents will even try the dishes. 

“Everyone has their own ideas of school meals,” she says. “Some aren’t very flattering, to say the least. Even when I was at school and my mum was the cook, there were still dishes that weren’t to my taste. But school meals have been overhauled a lot since my day. When parents see and try the dishes, you get to see in real time their perception of school meals change. 

“All parents want what is best for their children – to know the dishes are freshly prepared, meeting nutritional regulations, are good value for money and that there is something on the menu each day a child can have, can make all the difference for them deciding to try the service.” 

Relationships are key to service uptake 

Annette regularly goes into classrooms to chat to the children about nutrition and developing healthy eating habits. She also encourages them to proactively get involved in the planning of menus for school meals making the most of fresh herbs and vegetables grown in the school garden. 

“I’m proud of the relationships I have built throughout the years”, she says. “I have an open-door policy and the kids know they can come to me about anything – I might then pass it on to a teacher to keep an eye on them. Or parents know they can ask me for advice on cooking. 

Annette continues, “People may not realise this, but some people are struggling on Skye. Pride may stop people from going to a food bank, but I say to them, ‘I’ll go for you’. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks – it’s making sure your kids are fed that is important. 

“Food can affect everything, from the mental to the physical. We want to set our pupils up in the best way we can with delicious, nutritious, hot food they will enjoy.” 

To discover more of Highland Council’s journey with Food for Life Scotland, you can read here.