New figures show more than a tenfold increase in spending on Scottish meat by local authorities holding the Food for Life Served Here award for their school meals.
Edinburgh City Council’s schools spent more than £220,000 on Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb, and Specially Selected Pork in 2016-17. It’s up from just £16,000 in 2013-14.
Edinburgh City Council has been working to increase the quantity of farm-assured Scottish meat on school menus since gaining their Food for Life Served Here Bronze award in 2013, with 80% of the district’s fresh meat and fish now sourced within Scotland.
Argyll and Bute Council increased its spend on Scottish-sourced meat by 65% between 2014 and 2016, from £32,846 to £54,356. The council attained the Bronze Food the Life Served Here award for their primary school meals in 2013.
Food for Life Scotland
The Food for Life Scotland programme, delivered by the Soil Association Scotland, supports councils to get more local food on the table and serve freshly-prepared and sustainable meals in their schools.
Achievement is independently certified with the Food for Life Served Here at three levels – Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
As a result, of the programme, Edinburgh council is now also working on increasing its proportion of locally-sourced vegetables.
Cllr. Ian Perry, Convener of Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “As a council, where our food is sourced from is extremely important to us.
“We’ve worked hard in conjunction with the Food for Life Scotland programme to increase our procurement of Scottish produce and it’s had a huge impact.
80% of our fresh meat is now sourced in Scotland, and we’re working on a pilot project to increase our sourcing local vegetables.
“Our Food for Life Served Here Bronze award gives parents confidence in the meals we are serving in the city’s schools.
“Just last month all councillors were served a school lunch after the meeting of the Council – supported by our local suppliers – which went down a treat.”
Aoife Behan, director of Food and Policy at Soil Association Scotland, said: “Scotland has an outstanding natural larder, and Food for Life Scotland helps more of our world-class food and drink make it onto the public sector plate.
“Eating less but better quality meat is an important step in improving our health and safeguarding the natural environment.
Using farm-assured Scottish meat not only guarantees it’s high quality, but it also helps local businesses, farmers, butchers and suppliers, and, because it’s being cooked from scratch, it’s supporting skills in the kitchen and in the workforce too.
“Public procurement of local and sustainable food is one of the most effective mechanisms for driving transformation in food production and supply.”
