Jamie Oliver said, “This is a really great opportunity to support your school’s dinner lady if you think she is doing a good job. Instead of looking at how bad school food can be, this is an excellent way to celebrate what good things are going on in school kitchens around the country.”

The Awards are open to all UK State primary schools that are providing healthy, freshly prepared school meals. They must be working toward sourcing local and organic food for the daily school meals that meet the Soil Association Food for Life targets of 75 per cent unprocessed, 50 per cent local and 30 per cent organic ingredients.

There are four Soil Association School Food Awards categories:

Soil Association Food for Life School of the Year
£5000 of kitchen equipment will be awarded to an inspirational school which best reflects the spirit of the Soil Association’s Food for Life programme and targets and which makes sure the whole school is involved in developing and improving the school meal.

Organix Best Food Education Award
£2500 of kitchen equipment will be awarded to the school carrying out inspirational education about food and where it comes from as well as serving a tasty and good quality school meal.

Hobart Best School Dinner Award
£2500 of kitchen equipment will be awarded to the school, which serves up delicious food and is working to develop a strong food culture and understanding of food throughout the school.

Organix School Food Hero Award
For the first year, this Award will recognise one special individual who has worked hard to make a real difference – a cook, teacher, campaigner, local authority or catering organisation, staff member, parent or student who has fought to make a real difference to school meals in their area or nationally.

The deadline for entry is Monday 31 July and Jamie Oliver will present awards to the winners at the BBC Good Food Show on 23 November.

Patrick Holden, Soil Association director said, “These Awards are about recognising and rewarding all the good work that schools are doing in relation to food. That means not just what schools are doing in relation to healthy eating but also creating a pleasant dining room experience and educating children about good food and where it comes from.”

Lizzie Vann, founder of Organix Brand said, "We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Soil Association on the school food awards. It is important that the schools and individuals who work hard to make a change are recognised and rewarded. As a company we work hard to get the healthy eating message across to parents and teachers and it's great to see so many listening and taking action. These awards are a real celebration of what can be achieved when people work together."

Food for Life success
The winners of the Awards will set standards for other schools to follow. This is the second year the Soil Association has run these Awards, which highlight the importance of providing healthy school meals and better classroom education on food and sustainable food production. In partnership with Organix (and supported by Hobart UK) the Awards will celebrate the achievements of primary schools that have developed a ‘whole-school’ approach to educating children in healthy eating and where their food comes from.

Last year’s winners have gone from strength to strength and after the success of Hurlford primary school in Kilmarnock, Scotland, eleven schools are now exceeding the Food for Life targets in East Ayrshire.

Food for Life has now worked with over 500 schools and eight Local Education Authorities in England and Scotland. Shropshire County Council recently announced it was to adopt the Food for Life targets countywide. Jeanette Orrey’s pioneering Ashlyn’s Training kitchen has helped over 20 schools in Essex meet Food for Life standards. In addition there are a growing number of schools who have run their own school meal service, working towards Food for Life. The Soil Association has delivered over 150 Food for Life education workshops to support menu changes in schools.

Pam Shipperbottom and Laura Isley, winners of last year’s Soil Association School Food Award for Lethbridge primary school in Swindon, took over the running of the their local school’s catering after it was threatened with closure. They created three menus throughout the year, for spring, summer and winter. All the meals are cooked from scratch from raw ingredients and they meet all the Soil Association’s Food for Life targets. Shipperbottom and Isley have now taken on three more schools, delivering the Food for Life targets through their Lets do Lunch programme.

The Soil Association’s FFL campaign and Jamie Oliver’s Channel 4 series on school dinners have bought healthy school meals and food education to the forefront of the food debate. The Government is currently consulting on its new school meals standards for all schools.

The Soil Association continues to hear from many schools who are showing that their school meal can be used not only to ensure that children get the nutrients they need to grow and learn but also as a focal point for teaching about healthy, good quality food and where it comes from. School meals can ensure young people get the vital nutrients they need to grow and help them learn effectively.

For more information on the Soil Association School Food Awards in partnership with Organix, visit www.soilassociation.org