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Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI)

School food

We should recognise the great work that schools cooks do and the vital role they play in transforming school meals for the better.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

The Department for Children, Schools and Families commissioned the School Food Trust to improve the standard of school food to ensure healthier eating throughout the school day, banning meals high in salt, fat and sugar or containing low quality meat from lunchtime menus.   T he School Food Trust is working with Defra, DCSF and the Government Offices for the Regions on the PSFPI to improve supply of food into schools.

Department for Children, Schools and Families
  • School Food Trust: transforming school food and food skills - includes advice on nutritional standards and food standards for schools. A fresh look at school food procurement efficiency and sustainability: booklet providing practical guidance to assist schools and local authorities to respond to the Government's efficiency and sustainability agendas as they relate to school food
  • Food in Schools: provides guidance and resources for those working on school food and related activities, covering activities from how to set up a school food partnership, a healthier breakfast club and details on local Healthy School's support networks
  • Food in schools toolkit
    A joint publication by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills consisting of guidance, advice, case studies and templates brought to life by interactive elements such as a "Food Audit", to help schools work towards healthy eating. It covers healthier breakfast clubs, healthier cookery clubs, healthier lunch boxes, growing clubs, dining room environment, water provision, healthier tuck shops and healthy vending machines.
  • Guidance for transforming school meals
    This sets out some of the key issues that governors and head teachers need to consider in reviewing their meals service. It looks at options available to schools, including contracting the service out to a different provider, improving the service provided by the existing contractor or bringing the service in-house, and managing it entirely within the school.
  • Department for Children, Schools and Families - Central Procurement Performance
    Website provides useful guidance and resources for schools including e-procurement tools such as "Marketplace for Schools"
Using sustainable procurement to promote take up of school lunches
  • Food Policy in Schools - Catering and Food Procurement Supplement (pdf, 460 KB)
    This supplement to the National Governors Association’s guide “Food Policy in Schools – A strategic policy framework for school governing bodies” provides additional information to help schools promote healthy food and improve sustainability and efficiency in their procurement of food and provision of catering services.
  • Steps taken by North Lincolnshire Council to develop and implement a communication strategy to using locally sourced food as a marketing tool to maximise sales of its hot meal service. (pdf, 40 KB)
  • Posters used by North Lincolnshire Council to promote the uptake of school food.
Surveys
  • Survey of school food procurement, procurement skills and sustainability
    The survey obtained information from local authorities on: spend on school meal catering services, food and equipment; collaborative procurement; standards and specifications required by suppliers; the impact of increased food costs; sustainability in the provision of food in schools; procurement skills and training; and challenges relating to the provision of food in schools. (Report published: 25 February 2009)
Other resources
  • Meaty Meals for School Cooks (Word 1.3 MB)
    This cookbook - produced by the Heart of England fine food (HEFF) through the Government Office for the West Midlands with Defra funding under the PSFPI - provides schools with recipes for using less popular cuts of meat during the spring, summer and autumn terms. Such cuts provide good value for money as they cost less and are just as tasty. The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Council have produced a DVD showing butchers supplying the public sector how to produce these cuts and catering managers how to cook and serve them. Contact: tony.goodger@ahdbms.org.uk

    The nutritional data for the cookbook and can be viewed on the HEFF web site. A report about the production of the cookbook is on HEFF’s PSFPI projects page.
Further information

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Page last modified: 26 February 2009
Page published: 2 November 2004

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs