East AYRSHIRE Council have won a national award for their school meals for the 12th year running.

The Soil Association Scotland’s Food for Life Served Here Gold award recognised the nutritional school meals on offer across East Ayrshire primary schools.

The Food for Life Served Here award recognises and rewards councils that are serving food made from fresh ingredients, using free-range eggs and high-welfare meat.

Andrew Kennedy, Head of Facilities and Property Management at East Ayrshire Council said: “We are delighted to have retained this accreditation for a twelfth consecutive year. This success is down to the continued commitment and passion of our catering teams, our local suppliers and the children that enjoy our food.

“We don’t want people to regard our school food as being inferior to the best food they eat elsewhere. We have recognised the connections between what we eat and learning, how food helps with our health and how we can support our local producers.”

East Ayrshire Council has held the Gold award since 2008, showing their commitment to putting more seasonal food on school dinner plates and serving freshly-prepared, sustainable meals containing all seasonal and organic ingredients.

Anne Smillie of Corrie Mains Farm said: “It has been a great privilege supplying eggs to East Ayrshire schools as part of the Food For Life Scotland programme.

“It’s great to know that children in local schools are eating the good food that we produce as part of their Food For Life Served Here accredited meals.”