Soil Association Scotland and Moray Council are collaborating on a pilot project to get organic peas into school meals, thanks to extended funding from Sustain’s Bridging the Gap Programme.
The Give Peas a Chance! pilot project aims to open up a new route to market for this local and organic plant protein, allowing pupils to access healthy and sustainable food. It is a partnership between Soil Association Scotland, Moray Council and other councils in the north east of Scotland, pea producer Phil Swire of Balmakewan Farm, the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) and the Royal Northern Countryside Initiative (RNCI).
The organic dried split peas are grown in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire. The roots of the pea plants have a symbiotic relationship with rhizobium bacteria, which fixes nitrogen in the soil, making it a climate-friendly protein that also has huge nutritional benefits for Moray’s school pupils. The Council’s school meals menu, launched for the start of the new school year, includes delicious pea-based dishes, such as pea soup and even choc-pea brownies, which have already been a huge hit with pupils.
Sarah Gowanlock, Partnerships Manager, Soil Association Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to bring this exciting pilot project to Moray, and to bring organic split peas to even more pupils in Scotland’s northeast. We’ve seen through the first 12 months of the pilot project that school meals that include this plant protein are a win-win: locally sourced, sustainable and nutritious. In collaboration with Moray Council, we want to show the power of public procurement for getting more of these types of high-quality Scottish ingredients on to school meal plates.”
Cllr Kathleen Robertson, Chair of Moray Council’s Education, Children’s and Leisure Services Committee, said: “We’re always looking for ways to make school meals more engaging, nutritious and sustainable. This project is a fantastic example of how we can do all three, while giving pupils the opportunity to understand where their food comes from.”
