School Food Trust
Encyclopedia
The School Food Trust is a UK
Charity
and specialist advisor to government on school meals, children’s food and related skills.
Jamie Oliver
's critique of the nutrition
al quality of school meals in his TV documentary Jamie's School Dinners
. It had been found that standards of school food were shockingly low, with inmates in prison having more nutritious food. Average spend per meal before 2005 at secondary schools on ingredients was only around 40p. Childhood obesity
is a problem in the UK in specific demographic groups (see National Statistics Socio-economic Classification
), with some medical professionals predicting that today's youngsters will have a lower life expectancy than their parents with problems with diabetes and heart disease
.
In April 2007 it became a registered charity.
As of April 2011, the Trust will cease to be an NDPB, continuing its work both as a charity and by trading its services through a new community interest company.
, and managed on a day-to-day basis by an executive team. A criticism is that 8 of the 14 board members are either part of the food and catering industry, or close to it. Dame Suzi Leather
was appointed as the first Chair of the trust, but resigned a year later when appointed as Chair of the Charity Commission
. Baroness Maggie Jones
was appointed interim Chair in August 2006.
In November 2006, Prue Leith
was named as the chair.
In January 2010 Rob Rees was named as the chair after Prue Leith retired her position.
15 million grant from the Department for Education and Skills, and has been awarded in partnership with organisations including The Prince's Trust
, Business in the Community, Magic Outcomes and the Improvement Foundation, £20 million additional funding from the Big Lottery Fund
for a network of school children's cookery clubs called Let's Get Cooking.
in Professional Cookery and also Food Processing and Cooking.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
and specialist advisor to government on school meals, children’s food and related skills.
History
The trust was created in 2005 by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), following celebrity chefCelebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
's critique of the nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
al quality of school meals in his TV documentary Jamie's School Dinners
Jamie's School Dinners
Jamie's School Dinners is a landmark four-episode documentary series broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK from 23 February to 16 March 2005. The series was recorded between Spring to Winter 2004, in which it featured TV chef Jamie Oliver attempting to improve the quality and nutritional value of school...
. It had been found that standards of school food were shockingly low, with inmates in prison having more nutritious food. Average spend per meal before 2005 at secondary schools on ingredients was only around 40p. Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects...
is a problem in the UK in specific demographic groups (see National Statistics Socio-economic Classification
National Statistics Socio-economic Classification
The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification is the primary social classification in the United Kingdom. Its first major use was on the 2001 UK census...
), with some medical professionals predicting that today's youngsters will have a lower life expectancy than their parents with problems with diabetes and heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
.
In April 2007 it became a registered charity.
As of April 2011, the Trust will cease to be an NDPB, continuing its work both as a charity and by trading its services through a new community interest company.
Structure
The trust is governed by a board appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and SkillsSecretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
, and managed on a day-to-day basis by an executive team. A criticism is that 8 of the 14 board members are either part of the food and catering industry, or close to it. Dame Suzi Leather
Suzi Leather
Dame Susan Catherine "Suzi" Leather, DBE DL , sometimes known as Susie Leather, has been the chair of the Charity Commission since 1 August 2006. Previously she was chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority...
was appointed as the first Chair of the trust, but resigned a year later when appointed as Chair of the Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
. Baroness Maggie Jones
Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Margaret Beryl Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch is a British trade union official and Labour politician. She was Chair of the Labour Party from 2000 to 2001....
was appointed interim Chair in August 2006.
In November 2006, Prue Leith
Prue Leith
Prudence Margaret Leith, CBE is a restaurateur, caterer, TV cook, broadcaster and cookery writer. She was born in South Africa, with her working life spent mostly in London, England....
was named as the chair.
In January 2010 Rob Rees was named as the chair after Prue Leith retired her position.
Funding
The trust was initially funded by a £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
15 million grant from the Department for Education and Skills, and has been awarded in partnership with organisations including The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
, Business in the Community, Magic Outcomes and the Improvement Foundation, £20 million additional funding from the Big Lottery Fund
Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is a grant-making non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom created by the Government to administer the funding of "good causes" following the creation of the National Lottery. It has an annual expenditure of £630 million...
for a network of school children's cookery clubs called Let's Get Cooking.
Let’s Get Cooking
The aim of Let’s Get Cooking is to establish a national network of clubs to give children and non-cooking parents of all ages the skills and confidence to cook nutritious and tasty meals from scratch.School FEAST Network
Initially, Regional Training Kitchens were set up to train school cooks in a centralised (with efficiencies of scale) method, which were then named Regional Training Centres. A new name was needed, so it was decided to call these regional training centres the School Food Excellence And Skills Training - with the acronym School FEAST. These can train cooks to the standard of Level 2 NVQNational Vocational Qualification
National Vocational Qualifications are work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification ....
in Professional Cookery and also Food Processing and Cooking.
External links
- School Food Trust website
- School Food Trust Corporate Plan 2009-2012
- School Food Trust, Strategic Plan 2006-2009
- Let's Get Cooking Website
- Healthy food in schools - transforming school meals, DfES launch press release, 30 March 2005
- Food for Education
- School FEAST Network
News items
- Blair acts on Jamie's plan for schools, The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, 20 March 2005 - More money for school dinners as Jamie tastes campaign success, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 31 March 2005 - Grease is the word, Katharine Quarmby, New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, 20 February 2006 - School snack ban plans proposed, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, 2 March 2006