We're back and ready for 2012

Happy New Year! At SFM we're looking forward to a busy new year but we thought it was worth looking back at one important event from 2011. The team at Feeding the 5000 has produced a great film which sums up our day at Trafalgar Square. Enjoy it by clicking here then look in your fridge for any Christmas leftovers and remember Feed Bellies not Bins!

School Food Standards for All!

Following Jamie Oliver's appearance on BBC Breakfast and the media coverage that followed, SFM and fellow food campaigners met last week at JO HQ to discuss the way forward; how do we persuade the government to rethink its decision to make free schools and academies exempt from school food standards? We believe the place from which to lead the charge is the Jamie Oliver website, and you can show your support by reading his letter and going to the new Save our School Food Facebook page.

More funding from Capital Growth

Look out food growers - Capital Growth has just launched another funding round. It's open to new and expanding community food growing spaces in London to help with capital costs. Grants are of up to £750 and the deadline is Monday 16 January at 5pm. For further details click here!

Lunch at Robin Hood Primary

SFM was lucky enough to enjoy roast turkey and seasonal veg at Robin Hood Primary in Kingston. This was our first taste of the new meal offer from Cygnet which now meets the Food for Life Catering Mark Bronze standard. Robin Hood is also enjoying the benefits of a brand new kitchen which means that all school meals are cooked fresh every day on site. And the children are loving the new food with over half the school opting for hot meals. One year 6 boy summed it up "It looks nicer, it tastes nicer and it's healthy!"

SFM Autumn Update is here!

The SFM Autumn Update is here. If you didn't get one, please read more and don't forget to Sign up for our Newsletter so you don't miss out next time!

Welcome to the SFM Autumn Update. Just when things should be settling down for winter, we've got lots of new projects springing into action!

NEW SCHOOL FOOD

Children at 60 Richmond and Kingston primary schools are enjoying new school meals - freshly cooked from sustainable ingredients. Both boroughs have seen an increase in take up during the first half term: Richmond an 18% increase compared with September 2010 and Kingston an increase of 24% compared with October 2010. But at SFM we wanted to know what the real customers thought, so we've been out and about having lunch. Reviews from Richmond children have ranged from "The custard is actually smooth!" to our favourite from a year 4 student, "It just tastes nicer". We're off to Kingston schools this week and all reviews will be posted on our home page.

NEW KITCHEN GARDEN IDEAS

Just before half term, SFM piloted the new Kitchen Garden Ideas. We challenged our friendly chef, Paul Merrett, to cook whatever was growing at Grey Court School. At this time of year it was slim pickings but our intrepid chef got in amongst the brassicas and found some lovely Rainbow Chard. Thankfully the Grey Court hens came up trumps and laid some lovely eggs so Paul was able to guide 17 lucky year 10s through a winning recipe for Rainbow Chard Frittata. The recipe and some growing tips from Blue Peter Gardener, Chris Collins, will appear on our website next week so that you can all have a go at home.

NEW CHICKS!

Talking of eggs, The Russell School has just welcomed the new recruits to Grey Court's chicken project. As part of a community outreach programme, local primary schools will be given fertile eggs to hatch at school so that they too can keep chickens and sell the free range eggs to staff and parents. The Russell now has six chicks which will need to hurry up and grow some feathers so that they can enjoy life outside. More primary schools will be joining the project in the spring and you can follow progress on Twitter @gccchickens.

NEW POTATOES

Primary schools can now sign up for FREE potato growing kits from the Potato Council. Grow your own Potatoes teaches primary aged children about growing spuds by supplying a growing kit, supporting lesson plans and worksheets. You'll also get a chance to win prizes for your school by entering the competition once you have harvested. What are you waiting for? You can register here.

NEW LONDON FOOD LEAGUE TABLE

Our friends at Sustain and London Food Link have produced a league table to celebrate leadership on healthy and sustainable food. Local Authorities in London were scored on seven criteria including school meals, community food growing and Fairtrade and Richmond came out second, with Islington on top. The table is also a good way to find out where SFM needs to work next so that all London boroughs can follow Islington and Richmond's impressive leads. To find out how your borough fared, click here and let us know if we can help.

and finally, an old favourite ...

FEEDING THE 5000

Remember tales of a snowy day in Trafalgar Square in 2009? Well the Feeding 5K team was out in force again last week to highlight the problem of food waste. SFM was delighted to be a charity partner and came along with 100 school children to distribute fruit and veg - that was destined for landfill - to grateful passersby. The students also gave out a powerful message about the amount of perfectly good food that is wasted every day by businesses and households when 4 million people in the UK alone live in food poverty. Within two hours, 5000 people had been served a delicious vegetable curry under a banner declaring "Feed bellies not bins!"

That's probably enough for now. Next stop spring!