Eight winners revealed in Jamie Oliver Good School Food Awards

The 2024 Jamie Oliver Good School Food Awards resulted in another bumper crop of inspiring stories fo schools serving up great food, nutrition education and wider community outreach.

Jamie Oliver announced the winners on BBC One Show, saying:

"This award is all about what does great look like, how do people go above and beyond?... There is this logic and truth that if you feed kids right, breakfast and lunch, 190 days of the year, it helps them to learn, retain the information and live happier, healthier lives. Now more than ever, with our kids being amongst the most unhealthy in Europe, now more than ever, having people in the Good School Food Awards ... can also show other teachers, parents, head teachers and kids around the country, that this is what good looks like."

Children's Food Campaign Manager Barbara Crowther helped to create the shortlist for the Kindness and Community Award, which showcases how schools go the extra mile to support families and the wider neighbourhood. She and fellow judges Kemi Akinola (deputy leader of Wandsworth Council) and Nureen Glaves (CEO of Feed Me Good), were unanimous in recommending the award going to Naomi Parkinson, Head Teacher of Ingol Primary School in Preston, Lancashire, for her work bringing people together through food. 

Naomi and colleagues, pupils and parents at Ingol Primary School have:

• Transformed the food culture by bringing the catering in-house and using school-grown food to make sure the meals are healthy.

• Involved pupils in building up menus, finding out their likes and dislikes, as well as setting healthy boundaries by banning junk food and sugary drinks from lunchboxes.

• Created a roster of local suppliers, to build strong links with the wider community and keep costs sustainable for the school and its suppliers.

• Arranged for 120 additional meals to be cooked each week to go home to families of the school – a transformative support for those experiencing food insecurity, and done with volunteer help from parents. 

Children's Food Campaign Manager Barbara Crowther says:

"Naomi's leadership and Ingol Primary really stood out to us as judges, because it embraced a broad and holistic approach to community, involving pupils, parents and local suppliers, as well as menus that reflected cultural diversity, sustainability and good nutrition. 

"Judging this category was both inspiring and a bittersweet experience for us as judges. So many schools, teachers and catering teams are performing daily miracles on small budgets to keep children well fed, as well as increasingly stretching them even further into the wide community. 

"However the entries in this category also exposed the level of need that schools are increasingly responding to in their local communities. Surely it can't be right that almost every school now has a food bank? Or that an increasing number are supporting with clothing, laundry services and other needs? As well as long term, structural solutions to poverty, with fairer wages and adequate benefits, we need to put an end to means testing in the school food system and unite around a vision of healthy, sustainable school food for all."

The final panel of celebrity judges working with Jamie Oliver agreed with the recommendation to award the prize to Naomi and Ingol Primary School. 

Food critic Jimi Famurewa says: 

“Naomi’s leadership embodies kindness, creativity and community spirit. She’s a total inspiration.“

Chef and TV presenter Big Has says: 

“Her efforts have not only transformed the school’s food culture but have also made a meaningful impact on the wider community.”

Children's Food Campaign congratulates all the winners of the 2024 Good School Food Awards:

• Food Educator of the Year: Michelle Woodard, The King Edmund School, Essex
• The One Show’s rising star: Chef Russ and team, Pokesdown Community Primary School, Bournemouth
• Sustainability star: Sixth Form Hub, North Ridge High School, Manchester
• Heart’s kindness and community: Naomi Parkinson, Ingol Community Primary School, Preston
• The Sun’s catering team champions: Chef Hugo and team, Reach Academy, London
• Food for fuel with Joe Wicks: Jen Craven, Ysgol Trefonnen Primary, Wales
• School leader food hero: Miss Hackett, New Lubbesthorpe Primary School, Leicestershire

• Youth activist of the year: Madie Toplass, Thistley Hough Academy, Stoke-on-Trent

The winners of several other categories were announced on BBC One Show on Thursday 20 June, and all the details of the winners and their inspiring stories can be found on the Jamie Oliver website.