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:
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