Food in Schools: Why It Matters
Food systems are a major contributor to climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. Schools face challenges around food growing, food waste, and catering because these areas directly impact sustainability. School meals often involve high carbon footprints, packaging waste, and limited awareness of where food comes from. Meanwhile, food waste in schools adds to landfill emissions and squanders resources. Growing food on-site can reduce environmental impact, teach students about ecosystems, and foster healthier eating habits.
Why Schools Should Engage
Schools play a pivotal role in shaping future citizens. Educating students about sustainable food production, consumption, and disposal builds environmental literacy and encourages responsible choices. Practical initiatives, such as reducing waste or sourcing local produce, demonstrate sustainability in action, aligning with curriculum goals and whole-school climate strategies. Engagement also supports health, wellbeing, and community resilience.
Actions and Embedding Sustainability
Schools can act by:
- Growing food in gardens or allotments to teach skills and reduce food miles.
- Reducing waste through portion control, composting, and food-sharing schemes.
- Improving catering by offering plant-based options, sourcing seasonal produce, and minimising packaging.
To embed these actions into school culture, integrate them into lessons, involve student councils, and celebrate achievements through events and communication. Partnerships with local farms, waste services, and sustainability networks can reinforce long-term commitment. Making food sustainability part of policies and values ensures it becomes a shared responsibility across the whole school community.
ProVeg
Learn from ProVeg about their School Plates programme: working with school catering teams to make the menu tastier, healthier, more economic and more sustainable.
Royal Horticultural Society
In this video, the RHS explain the support they offers schools around setting up a garden and growing food, and we hear from a Suffolk primary school they have worked with.
Suffolk County Council Waste Team
Hear from Eleanor and Craig from Suffolk County Council’s Waste and Recycling Team on food waste reduction and recycling. Find out more about about Food Savvy here.
Cool Food Pro provides a free carbon foot printing tool for catering professionals to reduce food-related carbon emissions. It offers calculators, practical tips, and best practices for sustainable menus, food waste reduction, and climate-friendly choices, supporting schools and organisations in achieving environmental goals.
The Permaculture Association offers courses, resources and support to bring permaculture into schools, colleges and communities, from beginner workshops and a Diploma pathway, to teaching‑resources, a Certified Teachers Register, and guidance for integrating permaculture into education and sustainability planning.
Let's Go Zero have shared lots of ideas in a webinar all about Food. Learn about surplus food pantries, community fridges, gardening, cook-and-eat programs, composting, recycling, and energy-saving schemes, plus signposting to partner organisations for support. Watch here.
The Suffolk Master Composters Programme offers free training and ongoing volunteer support to champion home composting. Around 60 local volunteers provide expert advice at events, schools, and community sites - promoting composting, tackling food waste, and helping residents succeed sustainably.
Curriculum
Rethink Food offers free curriculum-aligned resources for teachers, including interactive activities, videos, quizzes, and clubs focused on sustainability, healthy eating, and nature. Support includes ready-to-use lesson plans, Eco Club tools, and initiatives like Agents of Change to inspire positive environmental and health choices.
LEAF Education offers teachers a full suite of support, from free classroom resources and curriculum‑linked farm and virtual visits, to in‑school sessions, CPD/teacher training, national competitions and expert guidance, equipping schools to teach food, farming and sustainability meaningfully.
