Thursday, 19 June 2014

Food for Life—Currie Community High School continues apace with healthier food



Achieve
One year ago Currie CHS became the first mainland Scottish High School to have achieved the Food for Life (FFL) Catering Mark Bronze Standard for our Dolphin Café school kitchen.  One year on, work continues apace to provide healthier and more varied options for our enthusiastic and hungry pupils!

All Schools
The pilot project at Currie has been so successful that the City of Edinburgh Council has decided that all Edinburgh primary, special and high schools will aim for Bronze standard from October 2014.  This is a huge undertaking for the Council and one which has to be viewed as very positive step for the health and wellbeing of all pupils.  Locally sourced produce will benefit Scottish farms and food providers, animal and fish welfare is greatly improved which has a positive direct impact to our precious environment.

So what’s been happening in Currie of late and what are our plans for the future?  

Ambitious Project Group Meetings
Mairi Mitchell (S3), Matthew Day (S6 leaver) and Peter Sawkins (new S3 member) have been active throughout the past year and have contributed greatly during our regular Food for Life Café Project meetings.  Our meetings are enthusiastically attended by Amanda Stuart our superb Health & Food Technology Teacher, Julie Young, Cook Supervisor and Fiona Buckley, Area Field Trainer our willing and ideas packed catering staff, Joe Hind and Kirsten Leask our informative guides from the Soil Association, Laura Nisbet our Food & Health Development Officer who maintains very positive links to the centre and other schools, Ben Stewart our lead Depute and our initiator and leading light Environmental Projects Worker Rachel Avery.

Yummy Parent Evenings
Of late, Julie and Fiona have taken part in both new S1 and new S2 parents’ evenings with the provision of delicious tasters for parents for which feedback has been hugely positive.  S1 parents have responded positively to the groups suggestion that S1 pupils remain in school at lunchtimes from August to the September break and for the new S1 to sample the various dishes on offer.

Exciting House Assemblies
Mr Stewart successfully led three House Assemblies developed by the group.  He explained to all pupils the background to FFL and the potential impact on health, local business and the environment.  Julie and Fiona provided FFL tasters for pupils.  A giant carrot and a giant cow were in attendance to help promote the message. 

Healthy Vending!
We have installed a healthy vending machine in the main foyer which offers a healthier selection of milks, fruit, water and juices some of which are fair trade.

Busy Bees…………
Julie, Fiona and their team comprising Anne, Marion, Lisa and Jackie have carried out a huge amount of work over the past 12 months to ensure school food meets the Bronze Standard and are gradually moving the school towards Gold Standard.

Lovely Welcoming Furniture
New furniture and breakfast bars with high stools were successfully installed in the café last year.  One set of breakfast bars looks out over the gardens to the rear of the school where pupils can watch birds on our bird feeders.  Goldfinches are spotted regularly! 

Meeting important people!
Mairi Mitchell and Peter Sawkins recently met in Edinburgh with Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, to talk about their involvement with the project.

Going for Gold………………..
The school is not resting on its laurels, we intend to achieve Gold Standard later this year.  Gold Standard is achieved by meeting a minimum points scoring from a range of attainment options.  We will look to source more organic, free range and sustainably sourced fish, more ingredients from Scotland or elsewhere in the UK supplied from local farms thereby reducing food miles.  We are also looking to make healthy eating easier by reducing meat consumption, minimising salt and cutting plate waste.

For full details of how the standards are met please refer to the following link: