Local bakery supplies local schools
Case Study: Nottinghamshire schools
Region: Nottinghamshire, East Midlands
Organisation: Nottinghamshire County Council and Dawson’s Bakery
Description
Nottinghamshire pupils have eaten an extra 1.6 tonnes of healthy fibre in school meals during the past academic year, thanks to an initiative that is opening tendering opportunities for local firms to supply their products to schools, hospitals and other public bodies.
The initiative is one of many that have been instigated by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Bytes and Early Bytes school catering service to improve the nutritional quality of school meals. It is spearheaded by the Food & Drink Forum, which is working alongside the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the Government Office for the East Midlands.
The fibre boost comes from bread baked by Nottingham firm Dawson’s Bakery, who won a contract to supply schools in the county after taking part in a Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) suppliers’ workshop. Dawson’s uses a unique product that been developed by RHM plc, called Hovis Best of Both ®.
Dawson ’s make a range of products using Hovis Best of Both ® white flour that has all the natural goodness of brown. There are no grains or bits in the flour but it has twice the dietary fibre and four times the wheatgerm content of standard white flour.
Benefits
- Better nutrition - Nottinghamshire school children are now receiving more fibre in their diet.
- Supplier development - local firm Dawson’s Bakery won a new contract and become one of the LEA’s top five wholesale suppliers.
- New opportunities - the PSFPI events run by The Food & Drink Forum are providing food and drink firms with a new market – the public sector.
Lessons learned during implementation
Involving the local development agency helped increase the number of delegates attending the Defra funded workshops, which gave suppliers a better understanding of public sector procurement and how to compete for contracts.
Future developments
To investigate new products which may appeal to pupils such as a milk bar and fruit juice vending machine.
Further information
Rank Hovis customer services on 0870 7294200.
Page published: 23 October 2006