Our story
2007 - Where it began
School Food Matters was founded in 2007 by Stephanie Slater, after discovering that her children’s school meals consisted of unappealing, and often unidentifiable, frozen food.
At the time, only 26% of children across 38 primary schools in the London Borough of Richmond were choosing a school meal. Determined to change this, Stephanie brought together parents and headteachers to campaign for better food and a more transparent school meal service in the borough.
2008 - Building momentum
In May 2008, the campaign officially launched at Richmond Theatre. Chaired by broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, the event featured inspiring voices, including the original ‘Dinner Lady’, Jeanette Orrey; Prue Leith, then Chair of the School Food Trust; and Lord Goldsmith, then parliamentary candidate for Richmond Park. The launch drew over 200 attendees, and more than 700 people signed our petition, prompting the local authority to take action.
A school food working party was formed, bringing together schools, parents, national campaigners and School Food Matters. Our role was to represent parents and ensure their voices were heard through effective lobbying of local councillors for change.
2011 - Real change for Richmond
In May 2011, a new school meals contract was awarded. Freshly prepared, nutritious meals were introduced across Richmond’s primary schools, meeting Food for Life Served Here Gold standards.
Within the first term, meal uptake rose by 22%. By December, it had increased by 39%, with some schools doubling their numbers. Despite the huge leap in quality, the cost of a meal dropped by 38p.
Today - A trusted voice for school food change
This early success in Richmond proved the power of our approach and laid the foundation for everything we do today. School Food Matters has become a respected voice in school food advocacy, working with the Department for Education and contributing to national policy through groups such as the School Food Review and the Food Education Network.
We remain committed to supporting parents, schools and local authorities to ensure every child enjoys nutritious and delicious food at school and food education for their future health and happiness. We do the because school food matters.
Read the executive summary of the Richmond campaign or the full campaign report.