Food for Life Served Here Standards
Educo intends that all the school catering contracts which it is involved with will be procured at, at minimum, bronze standards under Soil Association’s ‘Food for Life Served Here’ assurance scheme.
Food for Life Served Here has been cited by NHS England and the Department for Education as a way to improve hospital and school food, and by Government’s Plan for Public Procurement as a way to guarantee a good score across the Plan’s Balanced Scorecard. The award also verifies compliance with the Government Buying Standards’ requirements on nutrition in hospitals, and incorporates the School Food Standards.
The Food for Served Here Standards are:
Bronze
- Meals contain no undesirable food additives or hydrogenated fats
- 75% of dishes are freshly prepared
- Meat is from farms which satisfy UK welfare standards
- Eggs are from cage-free hens
- Menus are seasonal
- Training is provided for all catering staff
- Free drinking water is available
- No endangered fish are served
- Information about where the food has come from is on display
- Suppliers meet food safety standards
- School caterers meet government guidelines for food and nutrition
Silver and Gold
The Silver and Gold Catering Mark Standards work on a flexible points system, which rewards spend on ethical, environmentally friendly and local ingredients, and recognises steps to offer healthier menus.
- At Silver, at least 5% of ingredients are organic and a selection of local or UK produce is served. A number of steps are taken to make meals healthier.
- At Gold, at least 15% of ingredients are organic, a significant proportion of the ingredients caterers use must be from the UK or produced locally and further steps are taken to make healthy eating easier.