Rochdale schools praised for investing in British food

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Rochdale schools have been praised by a charity after figures revealed that 72 per cent of their food budget for 2010/11 was spent on British produce.

The Countryside Alliance Foundation submitted Freedom of Information requests to local authorities on the subject and in Greater Manchester Rochdale came second, with a spend of £1,000,309 on food from local sources.

Bolton came top with 88 per cent (£2.2m) of food bought from local sources.

The results show that Greater Manchester Local Education Authorities invested an average of 56 per cent of their food procurement budgets on British produce last year.

On a national level the results of the Freedom of Information requests show that Local Education Authorities are not placing British food high enough on the procurement agenda.

So now The Countryside Alliance Foundation is calling on the Coalition Government to introduce a minimum British food buying standards policy for schools, similar to that initiated for the civil service earlier this year.

Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of The Countryside Alliance Foundation, said: “Parents in Rochdale will be pleased to know that their children are, on the whole, eating school dinners made with food produced to the high-standards required from British farmers.

“However, this isn’t the case in all schools in Britain, and more needs to be done to make sure schools follow Rochdale’s example and all children are able to eat healthy British produce.

“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.”