Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming (1) and East Anglia Food Links (EAFL) (2) announce the launch of a new project to help both public sector buyers and the suppliers of sustainable food within London.
Working with the Government Office for London (GOL) through the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (3), Sustain and EAFL will be developing public sector buying groups in the London region, connecting them with working groups of suppliers from across the London, South East and East England regions. The aim will be to increase the amount of sustainable food being supplied to the public sector in London.
Sustainable procurement is now a vital part of government policy, with the Prime Minister pledging the government delivery on it's goal of getting "the full environmental, social and economic dividend from every pound we spend". Sustainable food is one of the keys to that policy.
Emma Hockridge, Project Officer for Sustain's Good Food on the Public Plate (4), commented: "This project presents the ideal opportunity for public organisations in London who wish to source their food more sustainably to find out how to do so"
If you are a public sector food procurer and interested in linking up with the suppliers involved in the project, please contact: Emma Hockridge on 0203 5596 777 or at emma@sustainweb.org, or Tully Wakeman, Coordinator of East Anglia Food Link on 01508 536666 or at tully@eafl.org.uk
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Notes
- Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming – advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity. We represent around 100 national public interest organisations, and are independent from the agri-food industry. Sustain is a not-for-profit organisation and a registered charity
- EAFL works towards a more sustainable and localised food system, across the East of England, building links between members of food communities and across issues of sustainability in food
- The public sector in England spends £2 billion on food and catering services. The Government wants to use this buying power to help deliver the principle aims of the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food in England. That is, to deliver a world-class sustainable farming and food sector that contributes to a better environment and healthier and prosperous communities.
The Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative's five priority objectives are to:
• Raise production and process standards
• Increase tenders from small and local producers
• Increase consumption of healthy and nutritious food
• Reduce adverse environmental impacts of production and supply
• Increase capacity of small and local suppliers to meet demand - The 'Good Food on the Public Plate' Project builds on the pilot 'London Hospital Food Project' which increased the amount of local and or organic food in four hospitals in London. It also builds on our Organic Targets Campaign and Sustainable Food Chains Project to create reliable markets for sustainable food. The new phase of the project aims to work with at least 20 hospitals, five schools and five care homes in London and the South East to increase the amount of sustainable food being served as part of their routine catering
Published Wednesday 24 January 2007
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
