Glasgow hailed for encouraging pupils to eat healthy at school

Youngsters have been enjoying food that celebrates the use of local suppliers and producers to supporting the local community.

Now Glasgow City Council has been awarded for the achievement by scooping up The Healthy Living Innovation Award after dishing out the meals which are beneficial pupils and the planet.

The local authority, in partnership with Soil Association Scotland, won the award which is co-sponsored by Fonetti and Kafoodle, for their efforts in delivering fresh, local and sustainable food onto the plates of children and young people as part of the Food for Life Served Here Award (FFLSH).

The School Food awards, run in partnership with Swiss Education Group and Yummy, were presented at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, last month.

The prestigious awards evening brought together representatives from across Scotland's education sector to celebrate the highest quality foodservice, and well-being and sustainability incentives from schools across the country.

Glasgow City Council and Soil Association Scotland were shortlisted alongside Fettes College, George Heriot's School and Gordonstoun School.

The award was received on the night by representatives from both the council and Soil Association Scotland.

Councillor Christina Cannon, City Convener for Education, Communities and Equalities said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Glasgow City Council and Soil Association Scotland.

"Our partnership with Soil Association Scotland supports Glasgow as the leading force in serving up fresh, healthy and locally sourced school meals that benefit pupil's health and wellbeing whilst supporting their learning."

"Congratulations to all the winners."

Stephen Sawers, Head of Catering and Facilities Management for Glasgow City Council was overjoyed at the win.

He said: "We are thrilled to receive this national recognition from the Scottish School Food Awards for our partnership with Soil Association Scotland and the work we do through the Food for Life Served Here initiative.

"In Glasgow, we continually strive to come up with innovative and creative ways to engage our young people in the importance of nutrition, health and wellbeing.

"Through our partnership with Soil Association Scotland our young people have fresh, nutritious, and sustainable lunches that fuel them for the school day, and we remain fully committed to providing the best possible school meals for our pupils across the city."

Margaret Gilmour, Senior Partnerships Manager at Soil Association Scotland, said: "This is an outstanding achievement for the teams at Glasgow City Council and at Soil Association Scotland.

"The Food for Life Served Here award provides a route for local authorities to get more fresh, local and sustainable food into school meals.

"We've loved collaborating with the Council's fantastic catering service to get more good food onto school plates. It's been a huge team effort, so we're delighted to see it recognised in this way. Congratulations to all involved."