In June First Minister John Swinney announced the formation of the Public Sector Food Procurement taskforce, to support the maximising of locally produced food and drink consumed in public sector organisations like hospitals, schools and government offices. This will help to reduce food miles, and should increase access to fresher and healthier food, while helping to support local producers.
The Soil Association’s Food for Life Scotland programme, funded by the Scottish Government, has been working since 2009 with caterers to meet specific criteria that ensure that good food reaches public sector plates. There are now 26 certification holders and 1,580 certified sites in Scotland, with 116,200 certified school meals served daily. Criteria include decisions about food provenance, communicating with diners about where the food comes from, making stronger links with local suppliers and cooking food from scratch.