Leading by example

WHAT:

Food for Life works with public and private sector leaders to make good food the easy choice for everyone, whoever and wherever they are. The programme takes a whole system approach to food, changing both the food environment and food culture within which people make choices. The programme incorporates the Food for Life Served Here scheme, which provides an independent endorsement that food providers are taking steps to improve the food they serve. Food for Life is an evidence-based intervention that impacts on health and wellbeing, education, sustainability and inequalities across communities.

WHERE:

The United Kingdom

WHO & HOW:

Food for Life works with caterers to put good food on the menu in all the places where people live out their daily lives. The programme engages communities to get people of all ages cooking and growing food again and out onto local farms so they have a positive connection with real food. It works with nurseries, schools, universities, workplaces, hospitals, care homes and visitor attractions. It works in the high street, with local authorities, National Health Service Trusts and with entire cities.

The Food for Life approach works at a population level with settings and communities, taking a whole system approach to make it easy, normal and enjoyable to eat well. This includes work care settings, hospitals and in the community to tackle malnutrition and loneliness among older people through good food provision and creating opportunities for communal dining.

The Food for Life Schools programme is the flagship programme, widely commissioned by public health teams and taken up by schools across England. Over 1,100 School Awards have been achieved and over 5,000 schools have enrolled in our national network. Pupils in Food for Life schools are cooking, growing, and visiting farms to learn about where food comes from.

Independent evaluation of the Food for Life Schools programme has shown that pupils in Food for Life schools were twice as likely to eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day than those in comparison schools. Food for Life Catering Mark Gold menus have up to 47% lower climate impact than standard school menus. Investment in Food for Life menus brings a Social Return in Investment of £3 for every £1 spent, mostly in the form of opportunities for local food businesses.

MORE INFO
Food for Life