In Scotland? Learn more about FFL Scotland here.
In Scotland? Learn more about FFL Scotland here.
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06 October 2023
A big part of making healthy and sustainable food accessible to all is our partnership with local authorities.
When a local authority commissions Food for Life, we bring with us our whole place approach by connecting our work with local schools, early years settings, caterers, producers, growers and suppliers to make fresh, local food a reality for as many people as possible within that area.
This work has seen incredible results across the country, whether that’s getting more children eating healthy school meals or empowering school and nursery staff to deliver Food for Life activities.
Our whole setting approach means that a good food culture permeates all aspects of a setting, from canteen to classroom, ensuring long-term benefits and a greater impact.
Food for Life has worked with over 7500 schools and 32 local authorities in the last 20 years, and across local authority areas we’re currently working in, almost 400 settings are on their good food journey.
Working directly with local authorities means that we can work holistically, ensuring that all parts of the local food system are set up to embed a good food culture, from farm to fork.
For example, in one of our current commissioned areas with Medway Council, pupils have been learning where food comes from, visiting farms and having a say in their school lunchtime experience: “I’m really happy to be [at the farm], it’s really fun! The best bit of the day was going into the field and seeing all the wheat,” a pupil from Kingfisher School shared.
In our long-standing commission area Leicestershire, 27 schools have achieved a school meal uptake of over 90%, whilst in Walsall, Food for Life are working with over 16,000 children to embed a good food culture.
Food for Life’s whole school approach to good food has had an immense impact on thousands of children within the local authority areas we work in, as well as with individual schools outside of those areas, but it can’t stop there. Government intervention is needed to ensure the nation’s children are well fed and ready to learn, and that caterers are supported and resourced to deliver this.
Grace Denning, Local Programme Manager in Medway shares: “It has been a fantastic first year for the Food for Life programme in Medway. Schools have embraced the programme to champion healthy and sustainable food. We are looking forward to developing this even further over this academic year, as well as bringing new schools on board to be part of the good food movement.”
Find out more about our active commissions here.