Welcome to Food for Life

Food for Life Schools and Early Years Awards

The Food for Life Award is a nationally recognised framework which guides settings through four areas of development to transform food culture: Food Quality, Food Leadership & Culture, Food Education and Community & Partnerships.  

Enrolled settings grow, cook and learn about where food comes from. Both pupils and parents have their say in school food and the lunchtime experience. This includes working with caterers to source good quality food for school meals. This holistic approach means healthy and sustainable food becomes the norm. 

  • We currently work with over 700 schools and over 80 nurseries 
  • Pupils in Food for Life schools are twice as likely to eat their five-a-day,   
  • 45% of parents report eating more vegetables as a result of their child attending a Food for Life school 

Food for Life Scotland

Food for Life Scotland aims to make good food the easy choice for everyone. We focus on the power of public food and its potential to have a positive impact on health, the environment, and the local economy. 

To achieve this, we work in partnership with public sector catering teams. 

Our key focus is on getting more fresh, sustainable, local food onto public plates across Scotland. We are funded by the Scottish Government to work with local authorities and other public sector bodies to achieve the Food for Life Served Here award for their meals services. As part of this we provide bespoke support across menu and recipe development, data and spend analysis, and supply chain development. There are 15 local authorities in Scotland that hold the Food for Life Served Here award at Bronze, Silver or Gold for their school meals services, as well as universities, colleges and workplaces.  

Whole Setting Approach

Food for Life’s pioneering whole setting approach to food means that a good food culture is embedded throughout an educational setting, from canteen to classroom. Children get to enjoy high quality meals at snack and lunchtime as well as learn about where food comes from, how to grow food and how to cook food, and most importantly the joy that can be found from food, setting healthy habits for a lifetime.  

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