ENCOURAGING BEST PRACTICE IN THE FOOD PROCUREMENT SUPPLY CHAINS OF EDUCATION

The procurement contact named on the official notice.

We are scoping out the potential for delivery against the following set of objectives within the 24/25 financial year across education settings in England.

The approximate budget would be £5m.<br/>• Encouraging best practice in education sector food procurement<br/>• Support education settings in beginning their journey to meeting the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services without mandating them in education settings<br/>• Encourage sourcing of food in education settings which is produced to higher environmental production and animal welfare standards<br/>• Encouraging sourcing of food in education settings from a more diverse range of suppliers, particularly from SMEs, to better support local economies, increase resilience, and encourage food producers to innovate<br/>• Encourage food procurement practices in education settings that can involve pupils in a way that supports their health, education and relationship with food and farming (e.g. educational visits to farms)<br/>• Improve understanding in educations settings of the challenges related to food production and why supporting local food producers is important<br/>• Encourage greater use of local and seasonal produce in education sector procurement practices in support of farmers<br/>• Reducing food waste in schools<br/>• Increase transparency of food supply chains in schools to drive continuous improvement and build our understanding of what is bought, served, sold and wasted