Yesterday (28 July 2016) The National Trust received the Soil Association’s Food for Life Catering Mark recognising its commitment to providing seasonal, ethically-produced and sustainable food for visitors at 134 catering outlets in historic buildings, coast and countryside places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust is the first national charity to achieve a Catering Mark at such a wide scale.
Through the Food for Life Catering Mark the National Trust has conducted a complete review of the menus it offers, suppliers and the quality of their ingredients. It has made significant changes to provide more freshly prepared food that meets high standards of provenance and traceability, providing reassurance to customers that meals are freshly prepared using environmentally-sustainable and seasonal ingredients.
Matt Drew, Head of Food and Beverage for the National Trust said; “Food and where it comes from is an incredibly important part of what we do at the National Trust. Not only because we have such a variety of special places for people to eat at but because – together with 1,500 tenant farmers and producers – we care for 500,000 acres of farmland.”
There are now over 14,800 meals served each day at this standard through the 134 National Trust properties. This ranges from a home-made soup to a tasty seasonal treat or a farm assured main meal. The Food for Life Catering Mark ensures that all food is independently inspected to ensure that it meets Catering Mark standards.
To achieve the Catering Mark the Trust had to look closely at menus and sourcing and is making the most of food produced by National Trust tenant farmers, including free range eggs from the estate at Stourhead in Wiltshire.
Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association presented the Food for Life Catering Mark to the National Trust at a celebration at the National Trust head office, Heelis, in Swindon. She said; “We are hugely impressed that the National Trust has succeeded in achieving a Catering Mark for 134 properties. It is no mean feat to reach this standard and to get such a large number of the places people eat to at least bronze has required a concerted effort from all involved. Looking ahead it is great to be working more closely with the Trust and we hope that other charities and visitor attractions will take note of this incredible achievement.”
Matt Drew of the National Trust said; “Working with the Soil Association was an obvious choice for us – an organisation that shares our commitment to providing food with provenance and integrity. The Food for Life Catering Mark helps us to explain to our members and supporters how, as a food business, we’re different. We’re starting with bronze standard but our goal is to continue to improve our sourcing standards over the next two to three years and we’re excited to have started the journey.”