Caterers across Plymouth are invited to put their ‘best food forward’ as part of a new awards scheme designed to celebrate and inspire action to serve up food that is good for people and places.
A collaboration between Plymouth City Council and Food Plymouth, the city’s local sustainable food partnership, the Best Food Forward awards scheme sets out to recognise and celebrate hospitality settings making healthy, sustainable and local food a priority in Plymouth. It comes hot on the heels of a major step forward for Plymouth as a Sustainable Food Place, with the city achieving the Sustainable Food Places Silver Award in November 2023.
Food Plymouth’s Sustainable Food Places Coordinator Sophie Paterson said: “With so much happening in Plymouth’s food space right now, there’s both lots to celebrate and more work to do when it comes to putting food that is good for our health and our communities onto even more plates. Caterers can play a huge role in this and it’s important that they receive the support, guidance and recognition they deserve to take positive steps forward. That’s why Food Plymouth has been working with Plymouth City Council’s Public Health team to develop the brand new Best Food Forward awards together.”
Motivated by a desire to help Plymouth’s public more easily identify where to source good food when eating out and to recognise those already working hard to put it on plates across the city, the awards represent a real opportunity to boost the amount of healthier food consumed across all kinds of hospitality settings.
Councillor Mary Aspinall, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “This is a great opportunity for caterers across the city to celebrate their hard work in serving up delicious and healthy food to people across the city.
“We all know that the diet we eat is really important for our health and there are lots of small steps we can take, such as increasing the amount of fruit and veg we eat, or reducing our salt intake. But when you’re not cooking for yourself, it can be hard to judge how healthy the food you’re consuming is, which is where the Best Food Forward awards will come in, to showcase the best practice in cooking across the city.”
The awards scheme is open to two different types of caterers:
- Food businesses catering for the general public
- Kitchens and canteens in organisations (such as health care, social care, education or workplace settings) that are not open to the general public.
In each case, caterers are invited to complete a dedicated survey covering action areas relating to encouraging healthier eating and supporting communities. Specific action areas around health include: practices around sugar, salt, fats and oils; boosting fruit, veg and fibre; and promoting healthier options to consumers. Those included in the communities section cover meeting diverse community and accessibility needs, ethical sourcing and supporting the local economy.
Completing the survey will determine qualification for either a Bronze or Silver Award. A tailored process for businesses and organisations to progress onwards to Gold Award is in development. The survey is accompanied by a dedicated toolkit of resources to help caterers take their next steps and easily find information on a wide range of topics to help them on their journey.
For caterers, achieving a Best Food Forward award will demonstrate that their food business or organisation is actively championing healthy and sustainable eating in the communities they serve. All those completing the survey will receive a set of top tips and resources to encourage future progression through to the relevant next stage. Businesses achieving an award will also receive a certificate, e-badge and sticker to display, plus an invitation to complete a directory profile to appear on the Food Plymouth website and the opportunity to join a supportive network of food enterprises across Plymouth.
Meanwhile, knowing that a business or organisation has achieved a Best Food Forward award means that members of the public can have confidence in their commitment to providing healthy food benefiting individuals and communities in a variety of ways. It also helps everyone to learn about a host of other places across Plymouth offering similarly good food.
Caterers who would like to get involved should visit the Food Plymouth website for full details of the awards process.