Putting Northumberland Beef Back on the Menu - Northumberland Schools Catering Service
Case Study: Northumberland School Catering Service - putting beef back on the menu
Region: North East
Organisation: Northumberland County Council
Description:
The BSE crisis followed by the FMD outbreak hit beef sales hard in Northumberland and local farmers felt something had to be done to address this. A group of Northumberland Farmers got together with butchers R. Manners & Sons, the local N.F.U. Officer, the MLC and Northumberland County Council to encourage local consumers to eat more Northumberland beef.
R. Manners & Sons Ltd is the Catering Butcher contracted to supply meat and meat products to Northumberland County Council. By creating the opportunity for R Manners & Sons to bid for and win this contract the Council has been able to purchase fresh meat from animals reared within the Northumbrian Region and serve it in schools throughout the County. This was done in full compliance with public procurement regulations.
Benefits
- Providing good opportunities for food producers to supply their local public sector bodies helps to sustain local communities. Research shows that every £10 spent on local food generates £25 for the local economy.
- Traceability of the meat right back to the farm provides reassurance to the customers.
- Endorsement by the Local Authority has helped restore consumer confidence in locally produced beef.
Lessons learned during implementation
- Collaboration between stakeholders is essential. Local Farmers, the N.F.U., the Butcher R.Manners & Son, the MLC and Northumberland County Council's General Manager of Catering Services and Procurement Manager all pooled knowledge and resources to make this a success.
- Cattle certification has proved invaluable in restoring public faith in locally produced beef.
- Public procurement policy and the legal framework is not a barrier
to success even though specifying local produce is not allowed. Public
sector bodies can concentrate on increasing the opportunities for local
suppliers to compete for their business either as primary suppliers
or at a lower tier in the supply chain.
Note: A contracting authority could specify "Northumbria Select Beef"or equivalent if it were registered as a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) certified product. - PDO and PGI are EU approved schemes
However, contracting authorities must be able to justify a need for such specific requirements and not design specifications that effectively discriminate against products from other nations. Further information is at: www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/index.htm.
Future developments:
Reinforcement of the "Beef Labelling Scheme". This entails being prepared to be inspected and certificated every year by either E.F.S.I.S. or one of the other authorised bodies in order to demonstrate that the beef is from Northumberland. This is all checked at random by the County Council's Trading Standards Officers. Thus providing quality control and consistency for the future.
Further information
Geoff Manners
Director, R. Manners & Sons Ltd,
Meadowfield, Pontleland, Northumberland, NE20 9SF
Head Office (01661) 823261
www.manners.co.uk
sales@manners.co.uk
Vivianne Buller
General Manager of Catering for Northumberland County Council
www.myschoollunch.co.uk/northumberland
Kevin McKay
for National Chairman Local Authority Caterers Association
admin@laca.co.uk
Page last modified:
23 September 2005
Page published: 13 April 2004