Bury School Catering achieves awards for sustainability

Bury School Catering, Bury Council’s school dinner service, has achieved Food for Life Served Here Silver certification and the Green Kitchen Standard award from the Soil Association for serving healthy and sustainable meals.

Food for Life Served Here certified meals are freshly prepared by trained chefs. All ingredients are free from additives, artificial trans fats and GM ingredients. The meat served can be traced back to the farm and meets or exceeds UK animal welfare standards, eggs are free range, fish is sustainable, and menus make most of seasonal ingredients.

The Green Kitchen Standard recognises caterers who are making positive steps to sustainably manage their energy, water and waste. Bury is only the second council in the UK to achieve Green Kitchen Standard usingSchoolGrid, a food ordering system to reduce plate waste, and Cool Food Pro, a carbon calculator to reduce environmental impact.

Bury Catering provides 10,000 healthy and sustainable meals every school day and employs 250+ local staff across 55 primary, secondary and special schools. Their offer includes menus for diabetics, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, vegan and other special dietary menus. The service is completely nut free. They also satisfy the multi-cultural requirements of each school.

Councillor Tahir Rafiq, cabinet member for corporate affairs and HR, said: “It is important that children are being served fresh, healthy meals and getting the nutrition they need for their learning and development.

“It is a fantastic accomplishment to be recognised by the Soil Association for the quality and sustainability of our school meals.”

Andrew Cowan, senior operations manager for Bury Catering, said: “This past year we have been working hard behind the scenes on procuring sustainable, ethical and local ingredients and we’re delighted to be awarded Food for Life Served Here Silver and the Green Kitchen Standard award from the Soil Association.

“These prestigious certifications from the UK’s leading food and farming charity recognise Bury Council’s dedication to providing school meals that are not only delicious but are good for our children’s health, nature and the climate and ensuring kitchen practice minimises water, energy and waste.”

“Bury Council is only the second council in the UK to achieve Green Kitchen Standard for all our schools and we are proud of this achievement and our work to minimise our impact on the climate.”

Caron Longden, head of business development at Food for Life, said: “Food for Life Served Here caterers are leading the way in demonstrating how they are improving the food they serve. Making good food the norm is key to tackling the interrelated crises of climate, nature and health. Achieving Food for Life Served Here certification is a fantastic accomplishment and a true reflection of a caterer’s commitment to serving healthy and sustainable meals.”