A new collaborative project has been launched in Sheffield, aiming to create new routes to market for local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with the goal of promoting healthier and more sustainable diets for the city's residents.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food are working with six of Sheffield’s anchor institutions to investigate their current food procurement arrangements and explore the potential for healthier and more sustainable alternatives using local food producers and suppliers.
The six anchor institutions are University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield College, Sheffield City Council (school meals), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Sheffield Social Care, who in total are responsible for providing over 200,000 meals to Sheffield residents per week. This includes food for hospital patients and school meals for children and young people, amongst other services.
Led by Professor Peter Jackson, Co-Director at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food, in collaboration with Dr Richard Craven, Senior Lecturer in Law, and Professor Andrea Genovese, Head of Operations Management and Decision Sciences at Sheffield University Management School, the project seeks to encourage changes to the procurement policies of the six anchor institutions, favouring local suppliers who are willing to scale up their current operations.
The work is being delivered by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies in collaboration with the city’s local food partnership, ShefFood.
The team aims to create new routes to market for local SMEs and promote healthier and more sustainable diets for thousands of Sheffield residents who use their services daily. Part of the project will include the creation of a directory and interactive map of local food suppliers, to help the six organisations identify alternative sources to those they currently use.
It’s a pleasure to work with Sheffield’s anchor institutions and with local food producers to try to improve the quality of public food provision in the city. If we are successful in Sheffield, we will explore the scope to make similar changes on a regional and national scale with the potential to make UK food systems healthier and more sustainable.
Professor Peter Jackson
Co-Director at the Institute for Sustainable Food
Further information
Funders
Research England- Policy Support Fund