Calderdale Royal Hospital’s catering service has been awarded the Soil Association Food for Life Bronze Catering Mark recognising its drive for fresh meals and good food at Ingleton Falls Restaurant and Café Qualita coffee shop.
Providing over 250 daily meals to hospital visitors and staff as well as the general public and out-patients, the hospital is part of an exciting nationwide initiative by catering providers ISS Facilities Services to improve food at hospital retail outlets.
The initiative involves changing menus, working with suppliers, sourcing fresh produce, preparing meals on-site and training staff. For Calderdale Hospital, the passion to improve food in retail outlets was part of a commitment to achieve NHS England and local CQUIN295 goals for quality and innovation in raising food standards.
Helping people to find good food, the Food for Life Catering Mark is an independent endorsement that the restaurant is using fresh ingredients free from harmful additives and trans-fats and better for animal welfare. The Catering Mark is recognised by the Department of Health as a tool that can support hospitals and their caterers to make improvements to the quality of food served to patients, staff and visitors.
Calderdale Royal’s ISS Healthcare assistant catering manager Lina D’Italia Riley – herself a champion of good food shortlisted for a Food for Life Catering Mark Champion Award – has been at the forefront of the changes and said: “The whole catering team at Calderdale Royal has worked really hard and embraced the concept of good food, and we keep looking forward.”
Over one million high quality Catering Mark meals are being served each workday in schools, universities, nurseries, workplaces, hospitals, care homes and restaurants across the UK. Caterers working with the Food for Life Catering Mark are transforming food service providing more fresh, nutritious, environmentally sustainable, British, quality meals. Catering Mark meals are now served in over 25% schools in England, 20% universities, 300+ nurseries and 100+ care homes and hospitals.
