Tick off Bronze and Silver for... Getting help from local businesses and community groups

11 October – Need help with your growing or cooking activities? Local community groups and/or businesses can often offer their expertise and might even provide funding, and this will see you tick off Bronze and Silver criteria. 

Community & Partnerships criteria
Bronze: We make efforts to actively engage parents and/or the wider community in our growing and cooking activities.
Silver: We hold events to involve parents and/or the wider community in growing and cooking activities.

Food Education criteria
Silver: We organise at least one annual visit to or from small local food businesses.

Resources

The new economics foundation (nef) has found that local businesses benefit hugely from schools’ participation in the Food for Life Partnership. Read the report.

This booklet gives some ideas on how to involve the community in cooking and growing events.

Case study

Birchwood Primary in Ipswich has managed to build themselves a spectacular garden, complete with ten raised beds, polytunnel, potting shed and composter, thanks to the Suffolk Probationary Service and other local businesses. The Community Payback scheme helped build the garden from scratch in just ten weeks; a seed company donated seed, various local businesses donated funds and chefs from Milsoms at Kesgrave Hall have agreed to come into the school to cook the vegetables.

Read the case study.