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How Food for Life Scotland can support your sustainable food journey

How can we support you to achieve your sustainable catering goals

Sustainable food practices are becoming increasingly vital in the catering industry. Business Development Manager, Sue McVey, discusses how Food for Life Scotland has been at the forefront of this movement.

The Scottish Government launched the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 in January 2024 and Scotland’s local authorities and health boards are currently busy creating Good Food Nation Plans. In addition, public and private sector caterers are going to have food sustainability targets and KPIs as part of various strategies and objectives set by their organisations, that will align with the Good Food Nation Act.    

Food for Life has been operating in Scotland since 2006 and has a trusted reputation of working in partnership with local authority schools and early year sites, to help them on their sustainable food journeys thorough the FFLSH programme. 16 local authorities in Scotland hold the Food for Life Served Here award at Bronze, Silver or Gold, and we are working alongside many others. Scotland’s schools are doing a great job and there are some outstanding school cooks and caterers going above and beyond. Look to Annette Burfoot on the Isle of Skye or the great work East Ayrshire do each year to earn their Gold Award. 

In 2023, our work expanded to reach wider areas of the public sector. We started working with contract caterer BaxterStorey, using our Food for Life Served Here award as a framework to help a selection of caterers move to more sustainable dining experience. BaxterStorey sites that now hold the Bronze Award are the Glasgow and Edinburgh Courts, City of Glasgow College and Glasgow Caledonian University. This means they are using ingredients that meet UK high welfare standards, are free from undesirable additives and champion freshly made meals.  

The Scottish Government Workplaces in the Central Belt hold the Silver Award which champions using local producers, making healthy eating easier and using ethical and environmentally friendly food. BaxterStorey  are a very foodie bunch, using organic Mossgiel milk in many of their sites that hold a FFLSH award, plus taking advantage of seasonal produce using the Waste Knot boxes. Their commitment to using local producers and creating freshly prepared sustainable food has really impressed the FFL team. The cooks feel proud of the ingredients they are using and are keen to share their sustainable food knowledge with their diners and feel empowered to keep making a difference.    

How can we support you to achieve your sustainable catering goals: 

Food for Life Scotland is dedicated to helping caterers by offering a collaborative, supportive approach through our sustainable food programmes. Through consultation, on-site training, and resources, Food for Life Scotland supports caterers to: 

  • Source locally and sustainably through the Food for Life Served Here award. 

  • Train staff in a fun way to understand the sustainable principles of their menu and it’s wider impact. Our training sessions can also be tailored to your needs.  

  • Identify sustainable kitchen practices such as food waste through Green Kitchen Standard. 

  • Once caterers achieve Certification which recognises their commitment to sustainable and ethical practices our comms team are on hand to help shout out about all your good work.  

Our Scottish team are talking to caterers in all areas of the public and now the private sector. 

If this blog Sue highlights that if are looking for a friendly, knowledgeable team to help you on your sustainable food journey, then please get in touch and Food for Life Scotland can collaborate with you to create a framework for change.