The council's school dinner service has scooped two awards for sustainability.

The Bury School Catering scheme has achieved Food for Life Served Here Silver certification and the Green Kitchen Standard award from the Soil Association.

The local authority stands out as the second council in the UK to gain the Green Kitchen Standard by employing SchoolGrid.

Bury Catering provides 10,000 eco-friendly meals on each school day.

The service manages a team of more than 250 local staff, spreading their healthful offerings across 55 primary, secondary and special schools.

Other than ensuring the meals are completely nut-free, they cater to a wide variety of special dietary needs, including menus for diabetics, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan diets.

Their service also takes into account the multi-cultural requirements of different schools.

Cllr Tahir Rafiq, cabinet member for corporate affairs and HR, said: "It is important that children are being served fresh, healthy meals and getting the nutrition they need for their learning and development.

"It is a fantastic accomplishment to be recognised by the Soil Association for the quality and sustainability of our school meals."

The senior operations manager for Bury Catering, Andrew Cowan, acknowledged the hard work put in over the past year.

He said: "This past year we have been working hard behind the scenes on procuring sustainable, ethical and local ingredients and we’re delighted to be awarded Food for Life Served Here Silver and the Green Kitchen Standard award from the Soil Association.

"Bury Council is only the second council in the UK to achieve Green Kitchen Standard for all our schools and we are proud of this achievement and our work to minimise our impact on the climate."

Head of business development at Food for Life, Caron Longden, said: "Food for Life Served Here caterers are leading the way in demonstrating how they are improving the food they serve.

"Achieving Food for Life Served Here certification is a fantastic accomplishment and a true reflection of a caterer’s commitment to serving healthy and sustainable meals."