The Department does not collect this information. Decisions on food procurement are down to individual schools and local authorities. To assist them in this the School Food Trust has published “A fresh look at school food procurement: efficiency and sustainability”—guidance for schools and local authorities on how efficient and sustainable food procurement can be pursued in tandem.
The guidance actively promotes the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), which aims to increase tenders from small and local producers and improve their ability to do business. The guide encourages buyers to identify and reduce barriers to small and medium-sized local enterprises (which may prevent them from tendering) and recognises that smaller suppliers can compete with larger businesses. It also recognises that their participation in the public sector supply chain can benefit local and regional economies. The Trust’s website also contains a number of case studies where local authorities and schools demonstrate how they have successfully tendered for local produce for their meals’ service.