News

Primary school kitchens have achieved the Food for Life Served Here bronze award for the second year running and this year the accreditation has been extended to include council nurseries.

The catering staff serve up nearly 3,700 meals across 98 sites each day and the award signifies that a minimum of 75% of dishes are freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients.

Meals are also free from undesirable trans fats, sweeteners, additives and all genetically modified ingredients. Catering teams also use free range eggs, higher welfare meat and ingredients from sustainable and ethical sources.

Catering manager Elaine McRae said: “The award recognises our work to make healthy eating easier for pupils. Menus are planned to the Food for Life Served Here standards which support staff to be more aware of seasonality and provenance. We have seasonality charts and posters in our dining halls and this helps everyone to understand more about the journey their food has been on from farm to fork.”

Pupils regularly enjoy:

• Fresh milk from Graham’s Family Dairy in Nairn
• Seasonal vegetables from Swansons Fruit & Veg in Elgin
• Free range eggs from Allaburn in Elgin
• Quality meat from Andersons Butchers in Buckie and Fraser Brothers Butchers in Forres
• Fresh bread supplied to schools in Keith and Fochabers by Strathisla Bakery, Keith

Sarah Duley, head of food at Food for Life Scotland, added: “We would like to congratulate Moray Council for renewing their Food for Life Served Here bronze award for their primary school meals, and extending the award to all ELC settings.

“This is a huge achievement and shows that staff are dedicated to providing every child with a meal that’s healthy, freshly prepared and sustainably produced. It has been a pleasure working with Moray Council who are working hard to maximise the value of school food and the positive impact it can have on local communities.”