Meat moves closer to being back on council’s menu

Calderdale Council hit the headlines two years ago when councillors approved a plant-based – vegan – catering policy for events it hosts where the council pays for the food.

Senior councillors at that time had clarified this was only a small number of events a year, though including the high-profile Mayor-making lunch, and joked they were not looking to confiscate employees’ wafer-thin ham from lunch boxes.

The plant-based meals were better for the environment, they said, being sustainable as well as healthy.

But the policy is under review again, with a wider context of supporting local businesses and supply chains, and that includes Calderdale’s meat and dairy farmers.

Governance and Business Committee councillors agreed to recommend to the full Calderdale Council that they adopt the new policy.

The council’s Director of Public Health, Debs Harkins, said the changes strengthened the catering policy into one that more broadly supports Calderdale residents, including local farmers, suppliers, and taking in meat and dairy products as well.

It links in with the council’s economic strategy to promote Calderdale as a thriving place for business and the local food strategy which has an aspiration for all residents to enjoy sustainable food.

The policy will strengthen local supply chains for food, supporting local markets and traders, helping secure Calderdale’s food systems, said Ms Harkins.

It places an emphasis on using seasonal, healthy foods, and plant-based options must also always be available to diners at the events.

It also requires the council to support local suppliers over large-scale businesses and includes guidelines for council officers to follow, she said.

Councillors differed over the issues of how popular the plant-based catering had been.

Coun Scott Patient (Lab, Luddenden Foot), who had presented the plant-based policy to Cabinet two years ago, which he said had catered for everyone, said cost factors should be considered as the new policy was likely to be more expensive.

However, Coun Stephen Padgett (Reform UK, Salterhebble, Southowram and Skircoat Green) said the question about cost also raised the issue of waste.

Good causes could benefit from uneaten food at the events, but he had been led to believe it had been hard to find people who would take the plant-based food, he said.

Coun Patient said that was not his understanding of the situation.

“I understand there was no outstanding waste of plant-based catering,” he said.

Ms Harkins said getting people to indicate if there was any waste would be possible as part of the policy.

Councillors agreed costs should be monitored as part of the policy, if full council agrees it should be adopted.