EAST Lothian Council’s catering team is celebrating after the local authority renewed its Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) silver award for the second year in a row.

The council, which first received the FFLSH bronze award in 2013, is now serving about 4,500 nutritious, sustainable and locally-sourced Food for Life meals in its 37 primary schools and nurseries every day.

Councils receive the award following an independent assessment and inspection to ensure the food being served in schools across the local authority area is good for pupils’ health, good for the environment and good for the local economy.

The scheme is run by Soil Association Scotland and funded by Scottish Government.

As an FFLSH silver award holder, East Lothian Council ensures that at least five per cent of the ingredients budget for its service is spent on organic produce. This is in addition to meeting the FFLSH bronze award standards, which include ensuring that a minimum of 75 per cent of dishes are freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients. 

Meals are also free from undesirable trans fats, sweeteners and additives, and use free range eggs, higher-welfare meat and ingredients from sustainable and ethical sources.

Tracey McConnachie, area officer of nutrition at East Lothian Council, said: “Our cooks were already cooking from scratch, but we needed to look at what they were cooking from scratch.

“It was about doing the right thing for children.

“Gaining the FFLSH silver award meant that we could guarantee that we were doing the right thing all the time; not just some of the time.

“We are delighted to be using organic flour provided by Mungoswells Malt & Milling, produced right here in East Lothian. To reduce vehicles on the road, we have this delivered by our fruit and veg supplier based in Macmerry, George Anderson & Sons.”

Councillor Fiona Dugdale, council cabinet spokesperson for education and children’s and family services, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the excellent work of our school kitchen staff has been recognised by the achievement of a second successive FFLSH silver award.

“This is testament to both the commitment and skills of our teams, who work hard to provide nutritious fresh meals daily, whilst using as much local produce as possible.

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved.”

Sarah Duley, head of food, Food for Life Scotland, said: “Congratulations to East Lothian Council for renewing their Food for Life Served Here silver award for another year.

“This is a huge achievement and shows that staff are dedicated to providing pupils with a hot, nutritious meal that’s healthy, freshly prepared and sustainably produced.”