The Great London School Food Project was inspired by Rohan at Global Growers - a project to support schools to grow food in Islington and Hackney.
INSPIRATION: There are some incredible people and projects working with London schools on food in all its stages (growing, farming, sourcing, cooking, eating). The Great London School Food Project aims to gather them all together in one place and to let schools find the one(s) that suit them best. We also hope to build an easily accessible collective of school food experts who can support schools and each other to meet their needs. To get the ball rolling here are just a few great links in alphabetical order (as our project develops we'll make sure this information is as easy to find as possible):
Capital Growth: Capital Growth is a partnership initiative between London Food Link, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and the Big Lottery's Local Food Fund. It is championed by the Chair of the London Food Board Rosie Boycott and aims to create 2012 new community food growing spaces across London by the end of 2012. Capital Growth offers practical help, grants, training and support to groups wanting to establish community food growing projects as well as advice to landowners. (NOTE: this is not specifically a schools project but its a great project for schools and loads are already registered). Contact: Seb
Food for Life Partnership: The Food for Life Partnership brings together the expertise of four food focused charities (Soil Association, Garden Organic, Focus on Food, Health Education Trust). It aims to help schools across England transform their food culture. Contact tbc.
Fruit-full Schools: A national network of over fifty schools that came together in 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, to share in a common, fruit-full endeavour. Together they are helping to reverse the dramatic decline of traditional orchards: a habitat identified for urgent attention in the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan. Contact Lewis.
Global Growers: Global Growers is an educational project that supports schools to grow food and learn about where their food comes from. Run by social enterprise "The Garden Classroom", the project works with 8 schools a year to teach how to grow your own and the social and environmental impacts of what we eat. Working with 24 teachers a year they provide training, teaching resources and workshops to inspire the whole school community to think about the journey of food and take action to make it as people and planet friendly as possible. Contact Rohan
Lets Get Cooking: The Children’s Food Trust, (previously named the School Food Trust), was awarded Big Lottery funding in 2007 to set up and support the first 5,000 Let’s Get Cooking school-based cooking clubs for children and their families. Let's Get Cooking is now the largest national network of healthy cooking clubs in the country. As well as our school-based clubs, we provide training and support for other organisations running cooking activities for children, young people and adults. We work in various settings including primary, secondary and special schools, pupil referral units, children’s centres and charities. Contact: tbc.
London Food Board: Not specifcally schools but very relevant, the London Food Board is an advisory group of independent food policy organisations and experts which oversees the implementation of The Mayor’s Food Strategy: Healthy and Sustainable Food for London, published in 2006 (and referred to here as the London Food Strategy) and to co-ordinate work and lead the debate on sustainable food issues in the Capital. To contact click: here
Mission: Explore Food: Mission:Explore Food is billed as one of the most controversial and yet important cookbooks ever written for children and families. Mission:Explore Food is an activity cookbook that challenges children to go cannibal, cook in acid, make chocolate poos (including nuts and sweetcorn), ask the Queen for a swan and work out the best way to slaughter a lamb. Mission:Explore Food has been created to tantalise children’s taste for adventure and tests their understanding not only of where their food is from, but also of where it goes once they’ve finished eating. Contact tbc
RHS Campaign for School Gardening: The RHS Campaign for School Gardening aims to encourage and support schools to develop and actively use a school garden. As part of the Campaign they provide teachers with resources through their website and an extensive programme of CPD days. Although this is not solely about food growing there are great food growing resources. Contact: James
School Food Matters: Their mission is to ensure that every child enjoys fresh sustainable food at school and understands where their food comes from. To achieve this they listen to schools, parents and children. They urge local authorities to improve school meals and to support food education through cooking, growing and links with local farms. Contact: Isla on isla@schoolfoodmatters.com