More children in Oxfordshire and Hampshire are enjoying school meals since the local authorities started buying and serving locally-grown fresh, seasonal produce.

Les Redhead, Catering Operations Manager for Oxfordshire County Council and Tim Brock from Hampshire Fare, showcased their successful projects at a seminar to promote Public Sector Procurement of Local Food, held on 24 January at Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire.

Representatives from the NHS, local authorities, producers, suppliers and growers heard how sustainable local food is available on the public plates – and within tight budgets.

Melissa Love from South East Food Group Partnership who organised the event said: ”It is vital to build good relationships between the public sector food buyers and local and regional suppliers and growers. Schools and local authorities are now reaping the economic and environmental benefits, and this can be replicated for the NHS, police, prisons and armed services establishments.”

Les Redhead who leads the Food with Thought programme for school food in Oxfordshire now has 40 schools with local produce on the menu, producing tasty, nutritious lunches from fresh seasonal vegetables and locally-reared meat, all for 65p per child’s meal. One of the benefits of using local produce is less wastage in preparing the meals, and less waste on the plates because the children eat everything. Overall there is a 35% increase in the number of children eating school meals.

Every Friday, Kingham primary school has organic produce delivered by Daylesford Organics. Fresh, seasonal ingredients for the whole meal are supplied in a box and the dinner ladies create the dishes - Ready Steady Cook style. This has proved so popular with the children that the kitchen can barely cope with the number of meals required.

On 12 February Raymond Blanc will be opening the £85,000 new development kitchen for Oxfordshire dinner ladies. The new development kitchen at Rosehill School, Oxford will be used to train all catering staff, and for the creation of new menus using fresh local produce. This is a major step forward in the council's Food with Thought programme to improve the quality of school meals throughout Oxfordshire's 185 schools where 50,000 meals are served each week.

Tim Brock from Hampshire Fare believes that communication and good links between the schools, food buyers and producers is the key to success. “Engaging all stakeholders along the chain is absolutely vital,” said Tim. “The county’s food buyer and dinner ladies have been down on the farms to meet farmers and growers who supply the fruit, vegetables, milk and meat.”

Hampshire Fare also runs tender workshops to enable buyers and suppliers to have a better understanding of the processes and forms that have to be completed.

Meal or No Meal, a new DVD presented by Chris Packham, explains the benefits of locally-sourced produce in school meals. The parents taking part all agreed that school meals are ‘tasty’ and ‘very good’.

The Public Sector Procurement of Local Food seminar also included presentations from Sara Osman from the Food for Life Partnership, and Nigel Stone of Platinum Films, the maker of Planet Cook children’s TV series, which is hoping to set up a Nutrition Camp in south Buckinghamshire.

Contacts for more information

• Melissa Love, Public Sector Procurement Project Manager, South East Food Group Partnership. 07976 917363  www.southeastfoodanddrink.co.uk

• Tamara Schiopu, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes, and Oxfordshire Food Groups: 01865 484116.