The Soil Association is a ‘key partner’ in the new project ‘Cool Food Pro’ and through their Food for Life Served Here Award they have proven that it is possible for caterers to transition to serve sustainable meals across the public sector in schools and hospitals.
The project, which is funded by the Interreg France (Channel) England programme, will run until June 2023 and it aims to increase food security, sustainability and public well-being across the two nations.
‘Cool Food Pro’ aims to promote long-term behavioral change by promoting:
- Buying local and seasonal ingredients
- Increasing the number of plant-based meals
- Reducing the amount of food and packaging waste
The project will design and develop a free low-carbon app for caterers to measure the progress of their CO2 savings and food waste.
Carolyn Reid, programme manager of the France (Channel) England programme, said: “Following on from the success of Cool Food which sought to encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable food choices, Cool Food Pro will help to create lasting change in the catering industry.
“Through funding this project, we aim to support the development of new practices that will help the catering industry transition to being carbon neutral by 2050.”
The project has a total budget of €1,2m, of which €832,825 has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg France (Channel) England programme.