Demand for more British produce in schools

Buying British would improve the quality of school dinners, which would in turn help youngsters’ health, concentration and behaviour, according to the Countryside Alliance Foundation.

The foundation claimed that Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to 172 local education authorities in the UK had found that just 60 – 35 per cent – know the country of origin of the food they source to serve in schools.

Of those that do record where food is sourced from, in 2009/10 an average of 62 per cent of it was British, the FoI requests show.

The foundation has only published figures from four education authorities in Yorkshire – less than a third of those in the region

Doncaster had the highest level of British food in its school meals in the region in 2009/10. The figures show 85 per cent of the food served in the district’s schools was British.

In North Yorkshire the figure was 71 per cent, in Hull it was 70 per cent while in Bradford it was 60 per cent. Across the four councils more than £10m was spent on British food for school dinners

A separate survey of 2,799 adults, commissioned by the foundation, found that 61 per cent of those questioned believe that schools should be made to buy British meat products, even if it costs more money.

A quarter of those questioned said that schools should not be made to buy British meat products and 15 cent were not sure.

The survey results also show that older generations were more likely to want schools to be told to buy British.

Less than half – 46 per cent – of the 18- to 24-year-olds questioned believed schools should be made to buy British compared with almost three quarters of those over 60.

The foundation said that as well as benefiting pupils, buying British food would help to support British farmers and put public money back into the local economy.

It is calling on the Government to introduce a minimum British food-buying standards policy for schools, similar to one started in civil service earlier this year.

Chief executive Alice Barnard said: “When times are tough, too often the public sector turns to foreign suppliers for cheap goods.

“But if more schools looked to local producers to fill their food needs, they would be investing in higher quality meals for pupils, which would help keep their children healthy and improve concentration, and put taxpayers’ money back into the local economy.

“The Countryside Alliance Foundation is urging the Government to extend their buying standards guidance to schools, to ensure parents, pupils, producers and taxpayers are getting the best possible deal from their local education authority.”

A School Food Trust spokesman said: “However school food is being delivered, it has to deliver for children – with healthy, tasty food which meets the national school food standards.

“We know that sourcing more supplies from local producers is very important to many schools and caterers, as they want to support their local communities, and there are some great examples of this happening.”