This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Healthy meals are happy meals
11/08/2006
New research shows that serving locally produced food in primary schools has increased school meal take up, raised the quality of ingredients and provided a market for food producers.
A pilot in East Ayrshire to increase the amount of food bought from local suppliers has benefited children, schools and food producers - with children now wanting even more fresh fruit and vegetables in their school dinners.
Food Minister Ross Finnie said he was encouraged by the results and hoped other councils could learn from the pilot.
He said: "This pilot project clearly shows that children are enjoying eating fresh, local ingredients, and that they want even more in their school dinners.
"School meals in East Ayrshire have been reformed by buying and cooking local produce. The benefits for children in eating healthy, freshly prepared meals are obvious.
"I'm also pleased that local producers have been able to win contracts with East Ayrshire Council. There is no reason why small and medium sized producers can't compete on price, on quality and on service, within the public sector procurement rules.
"It's very important for a sustainable food sector to get producers competing for public sector contracts and supplying fresh produce. I want to see more councils looking at their tendering processes and trying out this approach in their schools, so we really can buy local and eat local."
The research, conducted for the Scottish Executive and published on the eve of the new school year, shows that the pilot food procurement scheme in East Ayrshire led to:
- A small rise in uptake of school meals in the 11 primary schools in East Ayrshire
- Better quality and fresher ingredients for school meals
- Fewer food miles
- Less packaging and less waste
Councillor Tommy Farrell, Chair of East Ayrshire's Education Committee, added:
"I am pleased with the impact of the pilot in educational terms. We are, after all, trying to produce educated consumers of tomorrow.
"This initiative is also an important commitment to the communities of East Ayrshire in social, environmental and economic terms and above all the children most certainly enjoy the freshness, quality and taste of good Ayrshire produce."
In August 2004, East Ayrshire Council introduced a local food initiative at one of its primary schools to explore the benefits of providing as much local and fresh food as possible within a varied menu. In May 2005, the Council rolled out the scheme to a further 10 primary schools. The Council split food lots into nine categories, rather than the previous four, to attract as many smaller and local producers as possible.
During the pilot, the average daily number of pupils taking meals in the eleven primary schools increased from 1399 in 2004 to 1423 in 2005 - up from 50.3 per cent to 52.7 per cent of school The uptake of free meals as a percentage of those entitled increased from 68 per cent in the August - December 2004 term to 74 per cent in the same period in 2005.
It is estimated that the market for public sector food procurement in Scotland is worth around £85 million. The majority of the money is spent in schools, hospitals and prisons.