The initiative aims to help participating hospitals demonstrate the high quality of the food they serve, meeting rigorous standards for sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition, and freshly prepared meals.
The programme will help build a clearer national picture of hospital food quality while empowering caterers to showcase healthier, more nutritious meals.
Caron Longden, head of business development at Soil Association Food, said: “Food for Life Served Here provides a robust baseline standard, showing food purchased meets good welfare standards and is cooked from scratch using minimally processed, seasonal ingredients. We check for compliance against national guidelines on food and nutrition, so we are proud to support hospital trusts with this important data collection.”
Alongside FFLSH certification, the programme will gather data linked to the proposed Government Buying Standards for Food, including insights on suppliers and higher environmental production standards.
Rachel Bailey, deputy director of Agri Growth, Trade and Technology, Agri Food Chain Directorate at Defra, added: "This partnership will be a key step in ensuring positive outcomes are delivered by the public money spent on food within these hospital trusts and in building our understanding of the food being bought and served.
“Having this knowledge and data will help Government to better understand how to capitalise on its purchasing power, informing any changes to public sector food procurement policies in due course."
The Soil Association currently works with 18 hospital trusts already certified to FFLSH, with a further 13 in the application process. The partnership deepens a long‑standing relationship with NHS England as both organisations work to improve and champion excellence in hospital food.
Phil Shelley, national lead for Food NHS England, commented: "When hospital sites truly understand the quality and origin of their food, they’re not just serving meals, they’re investing in patient recovery, staff wellbeing, and a more resilient, ethical supply chain. The partnership between the Soil Association creates confidence and certainty with NHS purchasing and helps teams realise the importance of food sustenance."