Silver award recognises healthy, sustainable and ethically sourced catering at York St John University

YSJ Kitchen receives prestigious Food for Life Silver certification from the Soil Association.

The York St John Catering team are celebrating after achieving the Food for Life Silver award from the Soil Association. This sector-leading certification independently recognises the quality of the food served on campus and the measures that have been taken to protect people and planet. 

The award is particularly meaningful at York St John as this applies to our main catering service which provides around 6,000 hot meals a week for staff and students. 

The Food for Life Served Here scheme verifies the food on the plate, to support caterers to demonstrate their commitment to climate, nature, and health through the food purchased and served. It recognises and celebrates caterers who use sustainable ingredients, champion good practise and cook from scratch. 

Certification criteria include various steps that reduce the environmental impact of menus, such as: 

• Meals are freshly prepared by trained chefs 
• All ingredients are free from additives, artificial trans fats and GM ingredients 
• The meat served can be traced back to the farm and meets or exceeds UK animal welfare standards 
• Eggs are free range 
• Fish is sustainable 

Menus make the most of seasonal ingredients. 

The work to achieve the award has been spearheaded by Stephen Broadhurst, Executive Chef at York St John University. He’s led the Catering team since joining the University 3 years ago and has had Food for Life (FFL) accreditation in his sights ever since, achieving Bronze a few months ago and now Silver.  

Stephen says some of the main changes have been towards local and organic producers: 

“We always felt that the certification was achievable and managed to make steady progress to get there. Some of our suppliers already fit with the FFL standards with a few tweaks in products and they are happy to continue to work with us. Where our existing suppliers weren’t able to carry on, we brought new suppliers on board.  

“Our new suppliers include a new butcher who is family run, local and sources meat to FFL standards, a local bread company and a family run organic farm who is helping supply our organic produce to meet the Silver award.”  

Stephen says the new menus are proving a huge hit:  

“The Catering team and I are passionate about creating healthy, affordable meals that reflect the ethical values of our students and staff. Working towards the awards has given the whole team and our customers a better understanding of the importance of a well-balanced diet, animal welfare and supporting smaller local suppliers. 

“We have had a great response from students and staff, all loving the healthier and more sustainable foods that we can now offer on a daily basis.”  

Caron Longden, Head of Business Development at Food for Life said: “We’re delighted that York St John University have achieved our Food for Life Served Here certification at the silver level.    

“The catering and sustainability teams at the University have come together to show the commitment they have for serving food that is better for our climate, nature and health to their students and community.    

“Chef Stephen’s work with local producers has been inspiring and is testament to his drive and passion to use the very best ingredients, which include locally produced meat and organic, seasonal vegetables from a local farm.”  

Sarah Williams, York St John University’s Energy and Environmental Projects Officer said: “It’s fantastic to see this award which recognises a deep commitment from the Catering team to serve food that’s healthy and sustainable. We’ve been proud to support Stephen and the team through the work of the University’s Living Lab: Feeding the Campus project, which highlighted the importance of the quality and ethics of what we eat.  

“Increasingly working with local and organic suppliers also helps us to reduce the carbon emissions associated with catering, a great example of how individual teams can support the University’s wider sustainability goals.” 

Find out more about the Food for Life Served Here certification at www.foodforlife.org.uk/catering/food-for-life-served-here.