Food for Life, a Soil Association programme, works in partnership with catering organisations across the UK to deliver sustainable, local and honest food. The award scheme means caterers can guarantee their menus meet high standards and menus are rewarded for using locally sourced ingredients. To achieve this respected status, caterers must prove that a minimum of 75% of all their food is freshly prepared in their own kitchens, whilst also making healthy eating easier for customers and ensuring menus have a high nutritional value.

The Lounge, located in County South, has again achieved the Gold Food for Life award having successfully shown its menu uses ethically produced ingredients such as Free Range, organic and Fairtrade products. The venue has also secured the award for guaranteeing locally sourced produce from local suppliers whose ethics and vision match their own.

As well as achieving this impressive standard, a variety of other campus outlets and catering services have been awarded the Silver Food for Life catering mark including; The Hub at InfoLab, The Deli, Marketplace, Internal Catering and the Pre-School. Barker House Farm in Cartmel College has also attained its Bronze Food for Life status.

It is becoming more and more important to customers to know the food they are being served is full of good, straightforward ingredients from caterers who care about the environment and animal welfare. Successfully attaining the catering marks reassures our campus community the food prepared on our campus is fresh, ethical and uses the best seasonal ingredients possible. Customers can dine in confidence that the food they are served can be traced back to the farm, supports the local economy and protects the environment for the future.

Ros Wilkinson, Head of Hospitality, said, “We are proud to gain this level of accreditation through the Soil Association for another year. The team work very hard to maintain and improve on the quality and variety of menu items that we offer, we work very closely with some of the regions local food suppliers who provide some fantastic produce.

The Hospitality Team are also working hard to develop our range of recyclable containers/cups and food service items to reduce the amount of single use plastics and to find products that support the universities environmental targets.”

This is, once again, a fantastic accreditation for the University with Lancaster remaining the most accredited university in the country.