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The Food for Life Served Here award recognises local authorities that serve healthy meals using locally produced and sustainable ingredients. To obtain the bronze award 13 key standards must be met.

One of these is that 75% of dishes on the menu must be classed as freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients. The Council’s catering team excel at this, with the menu in local schools calculated to be 96% freshly prepared - one of the highest levels in Scotland.

Councillor George Smith, chair of the Council’s Education and Families Committee, said: “This is well-deserved recognition for the work done by our school catering staff who provide healthy and nutritious meals in our schools and early years settings across the isles.

“We place great value on providing high-quality school meals, and there are many benefits to providing locally sourced produce too. I’m really pleased that Shetland schools have achieved this national accreditation and we’ll continue to strive to provide the best school meals we can for our young people.”

The Council is the 17th local authority in Scotland to achieve a ‘Food for Life Served Here’ award and one of only a few to hold the award across all their education settings.

Sarah Duley, head of food at Soil Association Scotland, added: “Food for Life Scotland is delighted to recognise Shetland Islands Council’s ongoing commitment to serving fresh, local produce in their school meals.

“The pandemic has further highlighted the importance of school meals and it is heartening to see the Council continue to take these steps to benefit local pupils, staff, and suppliers even while grappling with unprecedented challenges."