Prince of Wales presents school meals awards

The six Food for Life Partnership Silver schools are St Peter's CE (Controlled) Primary, Wem – Shropshire; St Andrew's CE Primary School, Shifnal – Shropshire; St John the Baptist School, Hackney – London; St John's CE VA Primary School, Midsomer Norton – Somerset; St Joseph's School, Cranleigh – Surrey and St Peter's C of E Primary School, East Bridgford – Nottinghamshire. The event has been organised by the Food for Life Partnership to celebrate top quality dishes prepared for children across England. Efforts to improve the quality of school dinners increased dramatically after celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched his healthy food campaign in 2005. In his Channel 4 programme, Jamie's School Dinners, the chef attempted to ban foods like turkey twizzlers from menus. Jeanette Orrey, Food for Life Partnership School Meals Advisor and the school cook who inspired Jamie Oliver's School Dinners campaign, said: "We campaigned for better school dinners, but it's not just about school meals anymore, it's also about practical food education like learning to cook, growing food and visiting farms to learn where food actually comes from. This is what we, at the Food for Life Partnership, work with schools across England to achieve." Emma Noble, Director of the Food for Life Partnership, continued: "These first Food for Life Partnership Award-winning schools show that it is possible to transform school food culture and to increase school meal take-up at the same time when young people's views are listened to and school meal changes are supported by practical food education like learning to cook, growing food and visiting farms to learn where food actually comes from." The Partnership aims to reach out through schools to give communities access to seasonal, local and organic food, and to the skills they need to cook and grow fresh food for themselves. The Partnership aims to have 3,600 schools enrolled by 2011.