14 November 2025
A critical action as part of the Food for Life School Award framework is the creation of a School Nutrition Action Group, or SNAG, that take responsibility for embedding a positive school food culture. Its purpose is to facilitate and amplify a collective voice around the food decisions that are made in schools, and under the committed leadership of the Kate Leith, the schools’ Food for Life lead, Fossebrook has truly exemplified this ethos. The school have implemented a SNAG that wholly represents the interest of their school community at every level: a mix of pupils from every year group, a school governor, the Food for Life lead, the Sustainability lead and the main school caterer! Having such a thorough mix of voices contributing to the development of the school’s food culture truly creates a sense of ownership and agency over food.
Food for Life’s aim in requiring a SNAG is that schools put real value on healthy and sustainable food as an important part of a child's development, and that staff value their own role in shaping a child's relationship with it. Fossebrook’s commendable SNAG are ensuring decisions about food and food culture are supported by leadership and through policy, and pupils are given the opportunity to input. The whole team at Fossebrook have been instrumental in developing the school’s packed-lunch policy, which will be shared with families to ensure all of their pupils are getting access to healthy food. They are also leading by example by growing vegetables in the school gardens and delivering assemblies on the importance of healthy eating and sustainability.
Beyond already having an active governor in the team, Fossebrook’s SNAG have been in dialogue with the whole School Advisory Board, which ensures governors are well briefed on their responsibilities.
Kate Leith, the school’s Food for Life lead, reports:
“[The governors] were asked questions and gave feedback on the current seasonal food available in school. They also provided an overview of their own children's thoughts on the menu, portion sizes etc. ... [they] were told about the school meal uptake, areas we have identified as a team where we could increase uptake and reduce waste - adding in different seasonal fruits, using spread for jacket potatoes, and adding more fresh veg into the salad - as some examples.”
The Board will also be consulted to ratify the packed lunch policy. Ensuring that school leadership can describe and take pride in their role in shaping a healthy and sustainable food culture for children is vital for the sort of change-making Food for Life strives to create.
By working through the Food for Life Schools Award action points, Fossebrook are implementing policies that support more children to eat and enjoy healthy and sustainable food at school. The long-term aim is that these policies will impact on the school’s procurement framework, enabling Fossebrook to have more agency to demand high quality and sustainably produced food for their pupils. Having school leadership that are supportive of a whole school approach to food, like Fossebrook does, ensures that pupils know more about healthy and sustainable food and its benefits.
Kate has worked hard over many years to develop a strong network around food, sustainability and local community including; reducing food waste initiatives, participating in food banks, clothing recycling programme, and a whole school composting initiative. Many of the actions that form the Food for Life School Award framework have been achieved through Mrs Leith’s ongoing dedicated efforts.
Enrolling in the Food for Life programme has spotlighted and consolidated these various initiatives, and has taken only a couple of school terms to complete! Moving forward, Food for Life’s actions will ensure that the whole school approach to food culture truly becomes the responsibility of the whole school community.
Congratulations to Fossebrook on their exemplary work so far, we look forward to continuing to support them on their Food for Life journey.