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. The organic dried split peas are grown in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire.
The council’s school meals menu, launched for the start of the new school year, includes pea-based dishes such as pea soup and choc-pea brownies, which have already been a huge hit with pupils. The new recipes will be accompanied by educational activities to show the pupils the farm-to-fork story of the peas.
Sarah Gowanlock, partnerships manager at 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."
Inverness-based Swansons Food Wholesalers holds a crucial role in the pilot. Moray Council school’s fruit and vegetable supplier for 20 years, the company delivers the peas to schools in Moray.
Scott Air, director at Swansons Wholesalers, added: “It is great to be able to help a Scottish farmer to establish themselves in delivering this fantastic product out to so many schools, helping kids to broaden their minds towards the products they eat.”