What does it mean for a school to be Food for Life Silver?

Hollycroft Primary School have just achieved Food for Life Silver! But what does this mean for the school, the pupils and those beyond the school gates? 

A Food for Life Silver Award demonstrates that the school is taking meaningful action to create a positive food culture, helping children to develop healthy eating habits, learn where food comes from and play an active role in shaping their food environment. 

To achieve their Silver Award, Hollycroft worked closely with the Food for Life team, receiving support and guidance to help their School Nutrition Action Group (SNAG) identify practical actions that would create lasting change across the school. 

One of the group’s key goals was to create a dedicated growing area where children could plant, nurture, harvest and ultimately cook the food that they had grown themselves.  

With tailored support from the Food for Life team through a combination of in-person and online training, school staff developed the skills, knowledge and confidence to establish and maintain the growing space. As a result, they have successfully grown a range of fruit, vegetables and herbs while embedding food education across the curriculum. 

The growing area has become a valuable learning resource, supporting activities such as sensory play, food exploration and hands-on learning about where food come from. It has helped bring food education to life, giving children the opportunity to engage directly with the food they eat and develop a deeper understanding of healthy and sustainable food choices. 

The school’s SNAG has also transformed its relationship with the school caterer. Through regular communication, feedback and collaboration, pupils now have a genuine opportunity to influence the food served in school. Children’s ideas and suggestions have helped shape menus and improve the dining experience, creating an environment where pupils are excited to try new dishes and take pride in seeing their recommendations put into practice. 

This approach gives children a real sense of ownership and agency over the food they eat. When young people feel that their voices are heard and valued, they are more likely to engage positively with food, try unfamiliar ingredients and develop healthy eating behaviours. These experiences help build confidence and establish habits that can benefit them long after they leave school. 

As part of their Silver Award journey, the school has also strengthened links with families and the wider community. Through activities such as family picnics, parents and carers have been invited into school to share mealtimes and experience new foods alongside their children. Pupils have also been encouraged to take home produce from their school garden, extending learning beyond the classroom and inspiring conversations about food at home. 

Having achieved Silver, Hollycroft is already looking ahead to the next stage of its Food for Life journey. The school is keen to work towards the Gold Award, focusing on embedding these positive changes even further and celebrating the role that good food plays in supporting health, wellbeing and learning. 

Plans are already underway, including developing partnerships with a local gardening charity that promotes mental health and wellbeing, creating a school show garden at the town’s annual flower and garden show, and launching an after-school gardening club. We can’t wait to see this all take shape!