Local authority sustainable food procurement

There are four key steps to take

1. Identify, and set out the reasons for, the need to take a more sustainable approach to food procurement.  (This toolkit and the general documents from the PSFPI below will help you gather this information)
2. Identify, and get involved, all those who need to be involved in a new approach. (The information below on persuading local decision makers will help you do this) 
3. Write, or rewrite, your food procurement policy to include a sustainable element. (The documents below from the OGC and IDeA will help you do this)
4. Identify and work with local suppliers to make sure they can supply what you need (The guidance from Defra and the case study from Shropshire County Council will help you do this)

Defra has identified two challenges to overcome when it comes to adopting a Local authority sustainable food procurement strategy, in addition Food Vision thinks there is a further particular challenge for local councils. 

The Government’s procurement policys to achieve value for money are laid out to ensure that public procurement is fair and transparent, with no discriminatory barriers to free trade. This means that public sector buyers cannot restrict their purchases to specific locations or suppliers, but the framework still offers plenty of scope to pursue sustainable development when procuring food and catering services. The OGC website gives further information on how to incorporate environmental issues into your procurement procedures.

Advice for local authorities on the legalities and practicalities of adopting a sustainable procurement policy has been produced by the IDeA.  Essentially it describes how sustainability can be built into the whole procurement cycle: identifying needs; appraising options; design and specification; supplier selection; tender evaluation; contract management and supplier development. And shows how you adapt your buying procedures to comply with the EC public procurement rules and Best Value.

Many small and local companies feel daunted by public sector procurement. Purchasers can encourage their involvement, from briefing them on how the process works, to specifying differently (e.g. more seasonal vegetables). And suppliers can also raise their game on due diligence, legal compliance and contract management.

You could direct suppliers to advice on selling to the public sector either directly, or via primary suppliers, on the PSFPI website or advise them to register with SALSA (see below) to help them show due diligence and legal compliance.

Food Vision thinks there is also a third challenge, and that is to persuade local decision makers to take the step towards a different way of procuring.

Those who need to be involved in local councils to make it work are:

• Councillors who remits are to scrutinise or champion, sustainability, climate change, best value and financial matters
• All those who procure food in the authority e.g. Social services, education, leisure, internal food providers.
• Those who are responsible for monitoring the procurement of food within the authority
• Environmental health or trading standards who can advise which standards might work.

Local elected members, quite rightly, focus their interests on the objectives set out in the Local Area Agreements themes.  You will need to show how sustainable food procurement can help towards the aims of the LAA.
Sustainable public sector food procurement fits all the local area agreement (LAA) themes, as the table below shows.

The case studies below also give good examples of others who have made that decision and show the gains which have been made. 

All of this information can be put to councillors to persuade them of the benefits of adopting this policy.

There is lots of guidance available.  Both for those who are in the process of making the decision, and those who are ready to change. 

For a good background document , procuded by the PSFPI which gives basic information, pros and cons and a couple of case studies this a good place to start for those who are new to the subject.   Unlocking opportunities: lifting the lid on public sector food procurement

Best practice in sustainable public-sector food procurement this is a report produced by Food Links United Kingdom (FLUK) to inform and stimulate public sector buyers and others directly involved in implementing the Public Sector Food Procurement

Defra’s Catering Services and Food Procurement Toolkit. This toolkit is for buyers and non-procurement professionals and seeks to provide practical guidance and templates to help procure catering services and food from wholesalers and producers.  The toolkit contains guidance on how to incorporate the aims of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative into catering and food supply contracts. There are also sample tender documents, specifications and model contract clauses that can be used. 

Guidance for buyers and their internal customers. Practical advice from DEFRAs PSFPI, for public sector bodies, on how to integrate sustainable development into food and catering services contracts.

How to increase opportunities for small and local producers when aggregating food procurement - guidance for buyers and specifiers .  Advice from DEFRAs PSFPI for buyers and specifiers of food and catering services, who are seeking to aggregate demand by collaborating with others within their organisations or other public bodies, on how to encourage small producers to tender for their business while abiding with UK public procurement policy and the legal framework.

Smarter food procurement in the public sector: a good practice guide This guide from the National Audit Office explains what public organisations need to do to improve their food procurement drawing on good practice in the public and private sectors.

Good Food on the Public Plate: A manual for sustainability in public sector food and catering Good Food on the Public Plate - ISBN: 1 903060 27 3 - 292pp – 200.  A comprehensive manual in five parts for those wishing to introduce better quality and more sustainable food and practices into the public sector. Developed by Sustain and East Anglia Food Links and available to buy from the Sustain website. 

The objective of the LEAP project was to: develop a suite of tools and guidance for public authorities to systematically, effectively and efficiently deal with green procurement as part of an Environmental Management System. The pan European LEAP project (funded by the European union) aimed to improve the environmental performance of the goods and services purchased by public authorities.

Case studies featuring sustainable food procurement will be added to the Food vision website in due course.

The case studies below represent a selection of those currently available and have been picked to show the wide range of activities that have been undertaken.

Shropshire County Council have examined the way they purchase their food particularly for school meals.  In particular, the council wanted to consider whether it was possible to help to deliver some of its rural regeneration, economic development and climate change policies through its procurement activities. Projects include Food in Schools and Increasing Efficiency from Grower to Eater project

Best practice in sustainable public-sector food procurement. Document developed as an outcome from a seminar on local food to share and disseminate best practice on implementation of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI). This paper is designed to inform and stimulate creative thinking by procurement officers and others directly involved in enabling more sustainable approaches to public sector catering.

Local oily fish in school meals - During 2005, f3 worked on a study to guide public procurement in the SE region to assess whether locally produced food commodities could be developed to meet the needs of the public sector, particularly oily fish from South Coast fisheries in school catering operations:  The objective of this study was to clarify the demand opportunity, product development requirements and routes to market for an oily fish product. The study was funded by SEEDA via the South East Food Group Partnership.

Sustain – Good Food on the Public Plate.  The success of this project meant that three of the four hospitals involved in phase 1 increased the proportion of sustainable food bought to 10% or over of their total budget.  Phase two hopes to involve more hospitals, case homes and promote the positive outcomes to others.  The project has produced numerous useful documents, some of which are available to download and some to order via their website, including:
Sustainable food in care catering: briefing paper, Good Food on the Public Plate - 2006

SALSA  - is an approval scheme that helps local and regional food and drink producers supply their products to national and regional buyers.  Supported by The National Farmers Union (NFU), The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), The British Hospitality Association (BHA) and  the British Retail Consortium (BRC). 

EDITORS NOTE:  Whilst almost all the guidance highlighted here relates to public sector food procurement much of that which is available is also useful for those in the private/voluntary sector.