With an overarching goal to make good food accessible for all, we work directly with caterers, schools, and communities to implement sustainable and lasting change within the broken food system. We do this through the standards we set, by enabling valuable connections and sharing best practice across the sectors we work within.
As part of the Soil Association, we use our experience to support governments and local authorities to work across the supply chain with farmers and businesses developing practical solutions. We collaborate with the public to create and amplify a powerful voice, challenging the status quo for better food for all.
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.
Our Sustainable Catering certifications, tools and training are widely acknowledged as industry leaders, helping hundreds of caterers implement sustainable practices across foodservice and the out of home catering market.
The Sustainable Catering portfolio consists of: Food for Life Served Here, Green Kitchen Standard, Cool Food Pro, Sustainable Suppliers Scheme and training & consultancy packages.
For the past 20 years the Soil Association has worked with caterers and businesses across all sectors. Due to the work undertaken across our Sustainable Catering portfolio, over a million sustainable and healthy meals are served per day throughout the UK, helping to make the food industry better for people and the planet.
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.
My Food Community is a community network and leadership development programme building a movement of good food champions across the UK.
Developed with, and for, people working with others through food, My Food Community creates, connects and champions change makers to find a holistic understanding of the food system. Providing skills and confidence to drive change in the places where they live.
These change makers plant the seed for a seismic ripple effect of change and progress towards a better food system in their communities, and beyond.
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.
Read the latest news from Food for Life
Things change fast in the food industry, which is why we’ve updated our Food for Life Served Here bronze certification standards to reflect where things are at right now. We want to keep celebrating the hard work of caterers who are continuing to serve up healthy and sustainable food despite tighter budgets, fewer resources and a turbulent policy environment.
We’re taking the good food movement beyond the school gates and into the heart of Walsall with the Food for Life Nourishing Communities Award.
11 Leicestershire schools have achieved a Food for Life award in 2024, demonstrating their commitment to serving up and learning about good food.
