International Schools Meals Day update
After 12 years, Children in Scotland is sad to announce that the International School Meals Day (ISMD) project is coming to an end in its current form.
A combination of the loss of funding, a reduction in Comms staffing and the need for all Children in Scotland’s work to align with the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan means that it is no longer possible to continue delivering the project.
Simon Massey, Head of Engagement & Learning at Children in Scotland, said:
“Despite the fact I am very sad that we need to end the ISMD project, I am really proud to look back at everything that has been achieved over the past 12 years. We’ve had engagement from 60+ countries across many years, countless organisations working directly with us and thousands of children and young people get involved.
I want to thank Scottish Government for their ongoing support over the 12 years with both funding as well as expertise in delivery, while both Yibo Woods at the USDA and Lindsay Graham have provided constant enthusiasm, advice and engagement throughout.
There are too many other people who have got involved over the years to individually thank but please know that every one of them made a meaningful contribution.”
Some of the main partners have identified a number of highlights over the years including:
- The My Food Cookbook – children and young people’s international recipe competition in 2018
- 10th Anniversary celebration in 2022, including the commemorative publication.
- The ‘thunderclap years’ – reaching millions via social media campaigns (before data protection legislation put a stop to it).
- Innovative and exciting ‘shared practice’ posts every year – 223 over the 12 years, with thousands of others shared on ISMD social media.
The ISMD website will be available until the end of June by which point key information will be transferred over to a new ISMD project page on the Children in Scotland website.
