Conservationist and TV Presenter Chris Packham has announced the school caterers officially serving the most climate-friendly menus in the UK: Waltham Forest Catering and Plant-based School Kitchens.

These two caterers are the inaugural National Champions of the ProVeg School Plates Awards, which celebrate excellence in healthy and sustainable school food, recognising the positive steps caterers take to increase their plant-based menu offerings and reduce food emissions.

“Congratulations to both of those gold winners, but it’s not just about those two winners,” said Packham.

“It’s about those children that have seen the potential of plant-based foods and have had their eyes and their taste buds tickled by that potential – improving the environment and sustainable thinking about our and their future.”

Packham is an ambassador for ProVeg UK’s School Plates programme, which has turned millions of school dinners meat-free or plant-based since its launch in 2018. Working with 65 major catering partners across the country, including the two champions, the non-profit is working with school caterers to increase the volume of healthy, sustainable school meals.

Waltham Forest Catering, responsible for the food service in 43 schools across the London Borough of Waltham Forest, were revealed as the National Champions serving state schools. The caterers have developed a range of healthy, plant-based recipes that have proven extremely popular with children thanks to their ‘taster-sessions’, where children and parents are invited to sample meals before they make it on the menu. School menus include a range of delicious, plant-based dishes, including spiced chickpea and sweet potato pilaf and jackfruit pasta bake.

Plant-based School Kitchens took the National Champion title for private school catering for their entirely plant-powered menu for Our Lady of Sion School in Worthing. Private schools are exempt from government guidelines which require meat and dairy products to be served regularly on school menus. Our Lady of Sion can therefore have an entirely vegan menu, whereas schools in Waltham Forest have a 23% plant-based menu.

Jimmy Pierson, Director of ProVeg UK, said: 

“We’re absolutely delighted to recognise Waltham Forest Catering and Plant-based School Kitchens as true pioneers in school food. We really didn’t expect to award our first Golds last year given how high we’d set the bar, but these menus were just exceptional. In the midst of a global climate crisis, it’s time to celebrate these genuine climate leaders who are working so hard to provide children with nourishing, sustainable food that they love to eat.”

In 2023, schools from across the nation sent their menus to school food NGO, ProVeg UK, to be judged for their Awards scheme. The non-profit was delighted to hand out 20 Bronze, 2 Silver and 2 Gold awards last year to the caterers who demonstrated the most dedication to serving healthy, plant-based meals that benefit children and the planet. 

The non-profit is now accepting entries for this year’s cohort of Awards. To learn more about the Awards scheme, visit proveg.com/uk, or email [email protected].

Watch Chris’ video announcing the award winners here.