Universities
Students are increasingly concerned with sustainability and food is a vital ingredient for achieving it. Universities and colleges are in a unique position to provide good quality, planet-friendly food to a receptive audience and reinforce a longer-term change in buying and eating habits.
The Food for Life Catering Mark can help you to do this efficiently. Already more than 230,000 freshly prepared school dinners are being served to school children each day. We’re working with nursery schools to help improve food for the under fives. Our vision is for healthy, sustainable food to be available for children and young people on every step of their journey through education.
Any college can reap the benefits of gaining the Catering Mark. We will provide advice and guidance on your menus and ingredients to help you gain the award and publicise your achievements.
If you’re already growing your own food, buying locally or serving organic products, you’re well on your way to gaining a Catering Mark. This unique award will provide an independent guarantee for your students that you’re serving fresh food which is free from controversial e-numbers and better for animal welfare.
The University of Winchester has gained the silver Catering Mark for its conference and wedding food and is currently applying for the bronze award for several other operations. Dave Morton, Catering Manager, said: “I would wholeheartedly recommend the Catering Mark. The move to Farm Assured meat can only be a good thing and it helped us remove a number of banned substances from our menus which can quite easily be “hidden” if you don’t ask the right questions of suppliers and caterers.”
Gaining the Catering Mark can also help your university move up in the People & Planet Green League table. The student campaign group has included the bronze Catering Mark in the sustainable food criteria for its Green League of universities.
Award holders
Silver
Bronze