Food for Life Partnership : Latest news

This month's Super Bloggers are...

LizzieMurray283740 — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:27:00 GMT

7 May 2013 - Looking back over the blogs from April, it is clear that Spring has finally arrived! Our schools have been making the most of the better weather and we have enjoyed hearing all about the outdoor activities and growing that is now taking place. Read on to find out who this month's winners are...

Celebrate & Share week, 13-17th May

beverett — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:25:00 GMT

1st May 2013 – Join us for a week long celebration of great food and share it with your families and the local community.

Valuable support from Daylesford Foundation

jparkermorgan — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:20:00 GMT

We are delighted to announce that the Daylesford Foundation is providing funding support to the Food for Life Partnership to assist our ongoing transition to a locally commissioned model.

The Sunday Times Better School Meals Campaign

jparkermorgan — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:06:00 GMT

24 April 2013 - Have your say in The Sunday Times national campaign to increase the number of children eating great school food.

More awards for our Northern schools

lbutterfield@soilassociation.org — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:24:00 GMT

16 April 2013 – School food expert Jeanette Orrey led a day of celebration as she presented prestigious Food for Life Partnership Bronze and Silver Awards to nine schools from the North of England in Manchester Town Hall.

Midlands Celebrations

lbutterfield@soilassociation.org — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

19 March 2013 – Eight schools from the Midlands were presented with their Food for Life Partnership Bronze and Silver awards this week, at our Midlands Award Ceremony held at Aston Villa Football Club

This month's Super Bloggers are...

LizzieMurray283740 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:18:00 GMT

08 April 2013 – Our Food for Life Partnership school blogs are always an interesting read and March was no exception. Schools from across the country inspired us with their creative blogging, and we are pleased to announce that this month’s Super Bloggers are Field Lane Junior, Infant and Nursery School, The Chad Varah Primary School in Lincolnshire and Trinity All Saints CE Primary School in Bradford.

Ravenscliffe High School go for Gold!

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:29:00 GMT

28 March 2013 – Ravenscliffe High School and Sports College in Calderdale are ending their spring term with a superb achievement; their Food for Life Partnership Gold Award.

Lincolnshire schools celebrate success

beverett — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:30:00 GMT

25 March 2013 - Last week 12 Lincolnshire schools came together to celebrate their bronze awards, in the company of special invited guests including the Director of Public Health, Tony Hill.

Calderdale School Awards

LizzieMurray283740 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:15:00 GMT

18 March 2013 – Six schools from across Calderdale joined together to celebrate great school food as they were presented with their FFLP award last week.

Lincolnshire schools take part in Fairtrade Cook Off

beverett — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:00:00 GMT

7 March 2013 – Three FFLP schools from Lincoln were finalists in a cooking competition organised last week as part of Fairtrade Fortnight, putting their cooking skills into action to impress judges and win prizes for their schools.

South west schools celebrate success

beverett — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:00:00 GMT

6 March 2013– Five schools from the south west were presented with their FFLP award this week at the first of our Award Ceremonies, held at Bristol City Hall.

This month's Super Bloggers are...

LizzieMurray283740 — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:10:00 GMT

February has seen some truly inspirational Food for Life Partnership blogs, with plenty of variety. Our amazing schools have been celebrating Chinese New Year (KUNG HEI FAT CHOY!) and Valentine’s Day, going for Gold and achieving Bronze, holding cook- offs, dig-ins and some of you have been blogging for the first time!

International School Meals Day

LizzieMurray283740 — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:42:00 GMT

01 March 2013 - Only a week to go until International School Meals Day! Next Friday, the 8th March 2013, schools in the UK and the USA will celebrate the first ever International School Meals Day. This special event will celebrate food and promote healthy living through school meals.

Health and education call for mandatory cooking and growing in schools

jparkermorgan — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:03:00 GMT

20 February 2013 - The last two weeks have seen potential good news for children’s health in the form of major backing of mandatory cooking and growing in schools by both UK doctors and the Department for Education.

Celebrate the teachers and schools that have inspired you

beverett — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:30:00 GMT

19 February 2013 - The Times Educational Supplement School Awards nominations are open for 2013. The TES Schools Awards celebrate schools, individuals and teams whose dedication, innovation and hard work are making a real difference to both pupils and communities.

Horse meat food contamination

jparkermorgan — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:40:00 GMT

The current horse meat scandal has once again brought the quality of school food into the spotlight. In particular, the issue has exposed two major flaws in our food system; the lack of traceability of meat and the over-reliance on processed foods.

School Food Plan local events - have your say!

jparkermorgan — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:42:00 GMT

12 February 2013 - Schools – here’s a great chance for you to have your say on the future of school food.

This month's Super Bloggers are...

LizzieMurray283740 — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:26:00 GMT

12 February 2013 - It's the start of a new year and lots of new schools have been blogging about their FFLP activity. It was wonderful to hear from so many schools reflecting on 2012 and telling us their ambitions for the year ahead.

A golden day with Collaton St Mary primary school

jparkermorgan — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:30:00 GMT

6 February 2013 – We spent a fantastic day at gold School Collaton St Mary’s C of EVA primary school in Paignton seeing FFLP in action and opening their brand new kitchen.

February's Tip of the Month

LizzieMurray283740 — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:05:00 GMT

4 February 2013 Tick off theSilver criteria for … Food Quality
Fairtrade Fortnight starts in 3 weeks and this year’s theme is ‘Go Further’. There are many ways to get your school involved, so start planning now.

FFLP Award Ceremonies are coming to a town near you

LizzieMurray283740 — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:59:00 GMT

21 January 2013 – We are inviting Food for Life Partnership schools who have achieved their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards between January 2012 and February 2013 to celebrate their achievements in transforming food culture at one of our regional award ceremonies in March.

January's Tip of the Month

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:40:00 GMT

17 January 2013 - One step closer to your Food for Life Partnership Bronze, Silver or Gold award!
Tick off the Bronze criteria for … Food Education

Welcome back! Spring will soon be springing and things are starting to come to life down on the farm, in the garden, and the kitchen too! Enjoying a healthy and seasonal diet is just so easy in the spring.

December's Super Bloggers are...

LizzieMurray283740 — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:05:00 GMT

7 January 2013 - We’ve been looking back over the school blogs from last term and have been really impressed with the schools who found time to blog during the hectic run up to Christmas. December’s Super Bloggers are Lincolnshire and Devon schools this time – Ingoldmells Academy, Skegness, Helpringham Primary School, Sleaford, and Ladysmith Infants in Devon.

Pupils bring local food to the playground

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:15:00 GMT

3 January 2012 - In the run up to Christmas, pupils from two Lincolnshire schools held their own farmers' markets selling homemade and local produce.

Catering Mark Consultation

LizzieMurray283740 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:47:00 GMT

12 December 2012 - Would you like to have a say on the future of the Food for Life Food Quality criteria? Our lead partner, The Soil Association, is consulting on the following three areas of the Food for Life Catering Mark Standards and would like your views.

Brook Green go Gold

jparkermorgan — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:22:00 GMT

10 December 2012 – Brook Green Centre for Learning in Plymouth have got all the more reason for some festive cheer this Christmas as they celebrate achieving their Food for Life Gold Award.

December's Tip of the Month - Twist and Sprout!

beverett — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Roast Dinner Day Competition Winners

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:00:00 GMT

We are extremely pleased to announce our Roast Dinner Day Competition Winners!
The entries were reviewed by our expert panel - the Cooks Network – who met and discussed what they loved about the blogs, before picking our winners.

A very special visit for Carshalton Boys Sports College

beverett — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:17:00 GMT

27 November 2012 – HRH The Prince of Wales and Jamie Oliver visited FFLP Silver School Carshalton Boys Sports College to find out more about how they have transformed their school food culture.

Roast Dinner Day a great success once again!

beverett — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:50:00 GMT

20 November – Last Wednesday, hundreds of schools from all over England celebrated the third annual Food for Life Partnership Roast Dinner Day.

October's Super Bloggers are.....

LizzieMurray283740 — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:48:00 GMT

The school blogs keep getting busier and better! Well done and thanks to every school who has been blogging this autumn term. We are pleased to announce that October’s Super Bloggers are Faldingworth Community Primary School in Lincolnshire and Ashbridge Independent Infant and Nursery in Lancashire.

National Schools Meals Week

jparkermorgan — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:41:00 GMT

Monday 5 – Friday 9 November – National School Meals Week (NSMW) is run by our friends at LACA (formerly Local Authority Caterers Association) with the aim of building awareness of healthy school meals and celebrating great school food around the country.

Prize Draw Competition Winners!

LizzieMurray283740 — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:15:00 GMT

6 November 2012 - A huge thank you to all of the schools who have already registered with us for this year’s event on Wednesday November 14th.

FFLP receives prestigious Public Health award

jparkermorgan — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:48:00 GMT

We are delighted to announce that The Food for Life Partnership has been presented with a Health Promotion and Community Well Being Award by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH).

November's Tip of the Month!

LizzieMurray283740 — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:00:00 GMT

2nd November 2012 - One step closer to your Food for Life Partnership Bronze, Silver or Gold award!

Tick off the Bronze criteria for … Community and partnerships

The third National Roast Dinner Day is on 14th November 2012 and if you are inviting parents or members of the community into school to take part, then you are one step closer to achieving your Bronze Award.

Get involved with the School Food Plan

jparkermorgan — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:20:00 GMT

23 October 2012 - Have your say! The School Food Plan is looking for cooks, headteachers, governors, local authorities and caterers to share your stories about how you make school food great.

September's Super Bloggers are...

LizzieMurray283740 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:29:00 GMT

10 October 2012 - We’ve had lots of fantastic blogs to read over September, well done and thanks to all the schools who have been keeping us up to date with their inspirational FFLP stories. Keep up the great work everyone!

October's Tip of the Month!

LizzieMurray283740 — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:02:00 GMT

9 October 2012 - One step closer to your Food for Life Partnership Bronze, Silver or Gold award!

Tick off the Bronze, Silver or Gold criteria for … Food Quality

If your school catering company has achieved a Food for Life Catering Mark Award, this means your school can automatically tick over a quarter of the Food for Life Partnership Award criteria!

Boost your teacher training with Morrisons Let's Grow vouchers

beverett — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:38:00 GMT

4 October 2012 - We're delighted that FFLP partner Garden Organic and supermarket Morrisons have joined forces to enable schools taking part in the supermarket's 'Let's Grow' scheme to exchange their vouchers (available until 22nd October) for both gardening equipment and teacher training.

Updates to Bronze Award Criteria

jparkermorgan — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:00:00 GMT

6 September 2012 - As of the start of the 2012 / 13 academic year, we have made some minor changes to our Bronze Award Criteria.

September's Tips of the Month!

LizzieMurray283740 — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:45:00 GMT

Get one step closer to your Food for Life Partnership Bronze, Silver or Gold award.

Tick off the Bronze criteria for …
Food Education AND Community and Partnerships.

Welcome back! To celebrate the autumn term, you might be thinking of holding a Harvest Festival. By cooking with produce grown in the school garden, or harvested from your local farm, you can teach children about food production and sustainability, as well as ticking off lots of criteria for your Bronze award.

Our first Super Blogger winners are ..

beverett — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:00:00 GMT

11 September 2012 - Congratulations to Bassingham Primary School in Lincolnshire who are our first Super Bloggers! Winners of this new monthly competition for the best blog will win a set of our fantastic Super Blogger stickers.

Response to C4 Dispatches 'The School Dinner Scandal'

jparkermorgan — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:06:00 GMT

10 September 2012 - Following the broadcast of this evening’s Channel 4 Dispatches - ‘The School Dinner Scandal’, Food for Life Partnership’s School Meal Policy Advisor Jeanette Orrey, MBE said:

Celebrating success in Plymouth Food Awards

jparkermorgan — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:13:00 GMT

10 September 2012 - Congratulations to Brook Green Centre for Learning and Brad Pearce of Plymouth City Council’s School Meals Service, both well-deserved winners in this year’s Plymouth Food Awards.

Become a FFLP Super Blogger!

LizzieMurray283740 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:38:00 GMT

Writing a blog is a simple way to tell everyone about the brilliant work your school is doing. A great blog with news and photos can really motivate readers too.

To encourage you to keep on blogging, every month we'll be selecting one or more "FFLP Super Bloggers" whose FFLP news and photos we think will really inspire others.

It's open to all, so read on for some top tips:

Save the Date - Roast Dinner Day is back!

beverett — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:31:00 GMT

16th August 2012 - We are proud to announce that the third annual Food for Life Partnership Roast Dinner Day will take place on Wednesday 14th November!

New Director for Focus on Food

LizzieMurray283740 — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:36:00 GMT

Focus on Food, food education and outreach programme and FFLP partner, has announced the appointment of a new Director.

Welcome to the team

beverett — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:55:00 GMT

27 July 2012 - The FFLP team has recently welcomed three new members, so we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce Claire Everett, Polly Frost and Leon Ballin.

Dereham Neatherd High School hold 'cook-off' with Norfolk theme

beverett — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:12:00 GMT

20 July 2012 - Last week, pupils at this FFLP Silver School, (who are going for Gold in the autumn), took part in a 'cook-off' using produce grown by the school's Gardening Club

FFLP Schools lead the way at the TES Awards

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 10:59:00 GMT

12 July 2012 - We were delighted to find out that every school nominated in this year's TES Awards Healthy Eating category were all part of the FFLP programme.

Young people do give a fig about healthy eating

jparkermorgan — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:41:00 GMT

July 10 2012 - Last night our Nutrition and Health advisor Jill Pitt joined an expert panel to hear what young people really think about healthy eating.

FFLP welcomes School Food Review

jparkermorgan — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:47:00 GMT

4 July 2012 - The Food for Life Partnership welcomes the news that the Department for Education has commissioned an independent review of school food by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent of Leon restaurants.

Learning about Organic at Yeo Valley

LizzieMurray283740 — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:27:00 GMT

2 July 2012 - Last week our lead partner organisation the Soil Association along with Yeo Valley, hosted a visit to one of the Yeo Valley organic dairies. Lizzie from the FFLP HQ team was lucky enough to go along to learn more about organic farming, and to meet the famous Yeo Valley cows!

Tell us about your end of term celebrations!

LizzieMurray283740 — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:17:00 GMT

29 June 2012 - The end of term is approaching fast and we want to hear how your school is celebrating another fantastic year’s work.

Our first teacher training event in Lincolnshire

beverett — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:25:00 GMT

28 June 2012 - Last week, one of our partner organisations,Garden Organic, led three interactive sessions entitled “Growing Food in School”. Groups of teachers already engaged with the programme were able to share knowledge and experiences and get hands-on with planting.

Jeanette Orrey to judge’ Young Times’ competition to find the best school meal

beverett — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:38:00 GMT

16 May 2012 - An article in the Young Times today is seeking to celebrate the country’s best school meals with Jeanette Orrey rating the entries for nutritional content.

Food Growing in Schools - Taskforce Report

LizzieMurray283740 — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:12:00 GMT

In March 2012, Caroline Spelman MP, Secretary of State for Defra, launched the publication of the Food Growing in Schools Taskforce Report. The Taskforce, led by Garden Organic, highlights compelling evidence that proves food growing in schools helps support children achieve, builds life and employability skills, and improves their health and well-being.

Growing Our Future

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:59:00 GMT

10 May 2012 – A recent Food for Life Partnership report by Garden Organic and the University of Bath shows the impact of growing food in schools as part of a broader food education programme.

FFLP featured in GovToday!

LizzieMurray283740 — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

9 May 2012 - We are really pleased to share with you our recent article featured on the GovToday website.

Join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day on 19 May 2012!

beverett — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT

26 April 2012 - Jamie Oliver is encouraging people and organisations who love food to get involved with the Food Revolution Day on 19th May 2012.

St George's Day Recipe

LizzieMurray283740 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:22:00 GMT

Happy St George’s Day!

Enjoy cooking toad in the hole today at home, at school, with your children!

Food for Life Partnership success recognised by continued Big Lottery funding

soile1admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:33:00 GMT

21 March 2012 – The Food for Life Partnership has been awarded further Lottery funding of £1million as part of an initiative by the Big Lottery Fund to support its grantholders in the tough economic environment.

Sustain launches SOS Food Standards campaign

LizzieMurray283740 — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:45:00 GMT

Children’s Food Campaign joins Jamie Oliver in fight for school food standards

Jamie Oliver's 'School Dinners' TV series in 2005 led to a public outcry and to the introduction of nutritional standards for school meals, including a ban on junk food and drinks in school vending machines. Appetising and nutritious school food is important for children's health and well-being, and for their education. The Food for Life Partnerhsip is supporting this campaign, and asks as many people as possible to take action to help Save Our School Food Standards.

Jeanette Orrey's top tips for creating a Diamond Jubilee dish

soile1admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:50:00 GMT

27 January 2012 – To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, British Food Fortnight is inviting all schools in the UK to create a special menu featuring recipes that celebrate the best of British to be served to The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall at a reception at Buckingham Palace.
All you need to do is design a menu fit for The Queen that celebrates the food produced in your part of the country.

Jeanette Orrey awarded MBE

soile1admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:55:00 GMT

31 December 2011 - Jeanette Orrey, school meals policy advisor for the Food for Life Partnership, was awarded with an MBE in this year's honours for services to food in schools.

Going for Gold - Chestnuts Primary School

soile1admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:28:00 GMT

7 December 2011 – Headteacher, Cal Shaw, from Chestnuts Primary School in Haringey talks about the school's journey to Food for Life Partnership Gold. Cal collected the Gold award at the National Awards Ceremony in London today.

Top chef Brian Turner dishes out food award to schools and caterers

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:26:00 GMT

8 December 2011 – Chef/restaurateur Brian Turner presented the prestigious Gold and Silver Food for Life Partnership Award to 19 schools and the bronze, silver and gold Catering Mark to 12 caterers from across the country for their commitment to transforming school food culture on Wednesday 7 December. The award ceremony took place at 15 Hatfields, an environmentally-friendly conference centre in London

West Midlands schools celebrate Bronze and Silver awards

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:59:00 GMT

8 December 2011 – Twenty-eight schools in the West Midlands celebrated their fantastic achievements in delivering practical food education and healthy school meals to children at three award ceremonies in November.

Mayor of Thurrock presents prestigious food awards to Thurrock and Havering schools

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:13:00 GMT

7 December 2011 – The Mayors of Thurrock and Havering celebrated the fantastic achievements of schools from their respective boroughs at the prestigious Food for Life Partnership Bronze Award Ceremony on Thursday 1 December. The Award Ceremony, which took place at High House Production Park, recognised schools that have excelled in transforming their food culture and is the first of its kind to be held in the area.

Food for Life Partnership wins prestigious BBC Award

soile1admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:52:00 GMT

23 November 2011 - Today the Food for Life Partnership was awarded the prestigious BBC Radio 4 Derek Cooper Award. The award recognises "unsung heroes, whose work has increased our access to, and knowledge and appreciation of, good food".

School food award dished out to eleven schools in York

soile1admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:22:00 GMT

22 November 2011 – Today Jeanette Orrey, the famous dinner lady who inspired Jamie Oliver’s school meals campaign, will present the Bronze Food for Life Partnership Award to ten schools in York that have excelled in transforming their school food culture.

Oldfield Park talks to BBC Bristol about their Silver award

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:57:00 GMT

17 November 2011 – Oldfield Park Junior School in Bath scooped a Silver award at the South West Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 15 November and spoke to Ben Prater at BBC Radio Bristol about their amazing 18-month Food for Life Partnership journey.

Leicestershire schools celebrate Bronze and Silver awards

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:58:00 GMT

16 November 2011 – Eight schools in Leicestershire that have excelled in transforming their food culture were presented with a prestigious Bronze and SIlver Award at the Food for Life Partnership Leicestershire Award Ceremony Schools on 10 November. The Award Ceremony, which took place at Gilmorton Primary School, is the first of its kind to take place in the region.

Moira Stewart presents Education Business award to FFLP school

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:34:00 GMT

15 November 2011 – Crondall Primary, a Food for Life Partnership school in Hampshire, has scooped the School Catering Award at the prestigious Education Business Award Ceremony on 10 November. On presenting the award to Headteacher Megan Robinson, Television Presenter Moira Stewart OBE said: “I think our future is in safe hands.”

Food for Life Partnership awards dished out to schools in the South West

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:11:00 GMT

10 November 2011 – On Tuesday 15 November, Jeanette Orrey – the famous dinner lady who inspired Jamie Oliver’s school meals campaign – will present the prestigious Gold and Silver Food for Life Partnership Awards to nine schools in the South West that have excelled in transforming their school food culture. The award ceremony, which will be held at Council House in Bristol, is the first of its kind to take place in the South West.

Food for Life Partnership gives full backing to Jamie's School Food Manifesto

soile1admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:40:00 GMT

25 October 2011 – The Food for Life Partnership welcomes Jamie Oliver's action plan for saving school meals and calls on this Government to back his proposals as a central plank of their fight to close the health and education gap for the most disadvantaged children. Bad eating at home and at school is part of the vicious cycle of disadvantage that stops so many children from fulfilling their potential. A healthy school meal and the chance to cook, grow and start eating fresh fruit and veg is not a nice-to-have. It's about getting the basics right.

Food for Life Partnership shortlisted for BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Award

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:08:00 GMT

25 October 2011 – The Food for Life Partnership has been shortlisted for a prestigious BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Award. There are ten awards in total, each with the aim of finding "the best, most inspiring food producers, markets, caterers, campaigners and retailers in a miasma of economic gloom."

London schools celebrate their Food for Life Partnership awards

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:55:00 GMT

21 October – Schools in the London boroughs of Camden, Islington and Croydon have scooped up the prestigious Food for Life Partnership awards for their fantastic food culture. Seventeen schools in Camden and Islington celebrated their achievements at a Food for Life Partnership Bronze award ceremony held at Canonbury Primary School in Islington on 17 October. A further eight schools in Croydon showed off their growing skills at an award ceremony/horticulture show held at Gilbert Scott Primary School in South Croydon on the following day.

Roast Dinner Day serves up ONE MILLION meals for a second year

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:00:00 GMT

12 October 2011 – This year more schools and caterers from accross the country took part in the Food for Life Partnership national Roast Dinner Day serving an estimated ONE MILLION meals for the second year running.

15 Kirklees schools pick up Food for Life Partnership awards

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:42:00 GMT

11 October 2011 – Fifteen schools in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, scooped up prestigious Bronze awards at the borough’s second Food for Life Partnership awards ceremony on 11 October, showing that Kirklees schools are pioneers for transforming school and community food culture.

Community Payback Scheme pays off for Birchwood Primary

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:19:00 GMT

10 October 2011 – Birchwood Primary School, a Food for Life Partnership school in Ipswich, celebrated a grand opening of its spectacular new vegetable garden on 6 October, showing off its ten raised beds, polytunnel, potting shed and composter to parents, various local VIPs and BBC Radio Suffolk.

Phil Vickery cooks up a live TV treat for Middlesbrough school

soile1admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:32:00 GMT

6 October 2011 – Yesterday celebrity chef Phil Vickery surprised Park End Primary School in Middlesbrough live on ITV's This Morning by cooking a celebratory meal in the school grounds. Park End Primary was nominated for the surprise by the Food for Life Partnership as recognition for all the fantastic work it is doing to transform the food culture at the school and in the wider community.

Calderdale schools celebrate FFLP Bronze Awards

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:38:00 GMT

5 October 2011 – Calderdale's Mayor, Cllr Nader Fekri, has dished out Food for Life Partnership awards to five Calderdale schools for their commitment to practical food education and healthy eating.

Magical FFLP school is finalist in 'Film My School' competition

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:18:00 GMT

Three pupils from The Prince of Wales First School, a Bronze Food for Life Partnership school in Dorchester, have been selected as one of three finalists for a prestigious national competition for their film of their "magical school".

Sign-up for Roast Dinner Day 2011

soile1admin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:45:00 GMT

The Food for Life Partnership is inviting every school across England to take part in the second Roast Dinner Day on 12 October 2011. Last year, 6,850 schools and 28 caterers participated, serving over ONE MILLION roast dinners on the same day.

Domestic Food Safety Course launched for Key Stage 3 pupils

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:22:00 GMT

28 September – The Food for Life Partnership (FFLP), Design and Technology Association (DATA) and Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC) have joined forces and are launching a Level 1 National Award in Food Safety qualification suitable for pupils from Key Stage 3 onwards at the end of September.

Lincolnshire schools are trailblazers in food education

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:05:00 GMT

22 September 2011 – Schools in Lincolnshire that have excelled in transforming their food culture have been snapping up prestigious Bronze awards. The county has kick-started the autumn term with TWO Food for Life Partnership award ceremonies, proving that Lincolnshire schools are trailblazers for healthy eating and practical food education in the region.

Fears for children's health as school lunch prices increase

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:53:00 GMT

1 September 2011 – Research by consumer watchdog Which? has found that school meals could cost parents up to 17% more this year compared to last year. Parents are shunning school meals because they believe packed lunches are cheaper and their children don't like the school food on offer.

Discover and celebrate Organic September with the Soil Association

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:27:00 GMT

1 September – This month we’re celebrating Organic September, an annual celebration of all things organic, and there are lots of ways for you to celebrate too.

Experts issue warning on obesity

soile1admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:59:00 GMT

26 August – Figures, published in The Lancet medical journal, say that obesity levels in the UK will approach half of men and over 40 per cent of women by 2030 due to a combination of lack of exercise, rich foods and an ageing population.

Raspberry Ritz Smoothies: Jeanette's top tips for a healthy summer school holiday

soile1admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:56:00 GMT

August 2011 – Well, the summer holidays are here and if you are going abroad or opting for a staycation, the first words the children will utter are, "Are we nearly there yet?" and then it will be "I'm hungry, what's to eat?" I know, as I have three boys, and while they are now grown up it doesn't stop them asking the "What's to eat" question.

BBC's Christa Ackroyd presents Gold award to school with the Midas touch

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:20:00 GMT

20 July 2011 – It could be said that Haworth Primary School in Keighley, West Yorkshire, had the Midas touch on Wednesday 20 July after giving everything – from cupcakes to flower beds – a gold look.

London's school food on path to a healthy and sustainable future

soile1admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:23:00 GMT

21 July – Good news for the capital’s schools, as term comes to an end, with new figures showing that half of all London boroughs are now serving healthy, ethical and environmentally sustainable meals.

Meal providers in these boroughs have proved that they meet the Food for Life Catering Mark’s Bronze or Silver award, an accreditation scheme which is a recognised benchmark for quality catering. Caterers are expected to source ethical and environmentally sustainable food, champion local food producers and make it easier for people to eat healthily.

Food for Life Partnership plays role in school meal take-up increases

soile1admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:36:00 GMT

8 July 2011 - Official figures from the School Food Trust show an average of 44.1 per cent of children in English primary schools and 37.6 per cent of those in secondaries opted for school meals this year. According to data, the take-up has increased over the last 12 months, rising by 2.7 percentage points among under-11s and 1.8 percentage points for older pupils

Celebrity TV presenter Stefan Gates dishes out awards to schools and caterers in the North

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:05:00 GMT

5 July 2011 – Eleven schools and four caterers in the North of England are celebrating the fabulous work they've done transforming food culture in their local communities at a Northern Awards Ceremony in Manchester today. Food writer and TV presenter Stefan Gates said: "These youngsters and their parents are celebrating good food and best of all it's giving them what will probably be some of the most enjoyable experiences of their school lives."

Food for Life Partnership schools shortlisted for LOtC awards

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:31:00 GMT

4 July 2011 – Eight Food for Life Partnership schools have been shortlisted for the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom's (LOtC) Excellence and Innovation awards, beating a record number of entries.

Conference hears how Food for Life Partnership is "most important food project in Europe"

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:03:00 GMT

30 June 2011 – Delegates celebrated the fabulous success of the Food for Life Partnership programme on Wednesday 22 June. Jointly hosted by the Food for Life Partnership and Faculty of Public Health, and chaired by Radio 4's Food Programme host Sheila Dillon, the conference heard how the Partnership is transforming school food culture nationwide.

CEO of the BIG Lottery Fund visits Carshalton Boys Sports College

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:13:00 GMT

24 June 2011 – Peter Wanless, Chief Executive of the BIG Lottery Fund, toured the school garden and sampled a Silver school meal at a Silver Award presentation ceremony at Carshalton Boys College in Sutton today.

Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall tells Michael Gove there is no excuse for cut-cost schools meals

klindsay@soilassociation.org — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:53:00 GMT

22 June 2011 – Speaking via a video link today at a London conference, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said: "I don’t think we should be hearing excuses from the government and Michael Gove about re-focusing schools on results because independent surveys have shown that when the Food for Life Partnership gets involved in schools, attainment goes up and outstanding Ofsted results double. And no excuses from local authorities either about the need for cuts, because the last contract that went to an Food for Life approved caterer reduced the cost of a meal by 50p, while still meeting the Silver Standard of the scheme."