Free-range eggs are now being used in school kitchens across
Bath and North East Somerset as part of the Council’s commitment to
healthier eating in schools.
They are all sourced locally through Bath District Farmers, who
already supply milk, yoghurt and cheese to the school meals
service, which serves nearly all of the Council’s 62 primary
schools.
Three local schools - St John’s Church of England Primary School
in Midsomer Norton, Oldfield Park Infants School and Twerton Infant
School in Bath - are some of the first in the UK to be awarded Food
for Life Partnership (FFLP) awards.
All three received the FFLP Bronze Award last week for good food
culture and education, by serving seasonal school meals with at
least 75% of dishes being freshly prepared. The catering service
moved from caged to free range eggs in April to support this.
Forty nine of Bath & North East Somerset’s 78 schools (62%)
also have Healthy Schools Status, with a further 26 working towards
this. Healthy Schools is a national programme where schools must
achieve 42 criteria across the themes of personal, social, health
education, healthy eating, physical activity and emotional health
and well-being.
Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Cllr Chris Watt
said: "Bath & North East Somerset Council is very proud that
our schools are leading the way nationally. We are working with the
staff, pupils and parents in all our schools to help deliver
quality, local food where possible. I'm sure that having a healthy
lunchtime meal will set children up for the afternoon so that they
feel ready to learn and able to focus. The benefits of the healthy
eating programmes are also being seen in the packed lunch choices
that children bring into schools.'
"It is our aim for all Bath and North East Somerset’s schools to
achieve the FFLP bronze award. This is part of the Council’s
commitment to developing healthier communities for the future."
Bath & North East Somerset’s School Food Forum has also
endorsed the move to free-range eggs and is working with Healthy
Schools and FFLP to further improve the food culture across the
area’s schools.
The Food for Life Partnership is a five-year Big Lottery-funded
initiative, launched in September 2007, to transform food culture
in over 3,600 schools and communities across England. The
partnership is led by the Soil Association and brings together the
practical expertise of the Focus on Food Campaign, Garden Organic
and the Health Education Trust. Their mission is to reach out
through schools to give communities access to seasonal, local and
organic food, and to the skills they need to cook and grow fresh
food for themselves. To find out more visit www.foodforlife.org.uk.
