Achieving 50% local food procurement
Delivering economic, environmental and social value
The government can and should deliver its commitment to source 50% of public sector food locally or to higher environmental standards, while supporting economic growth, food security and protection of the countryside, particularly on the edge of our largest towns and cities.
Read our full report.
Local and sustainable food buying: new ideas to help British farmers
Why this matters now
Labour’s 2024 manifesto committed to sourcing half of public sector food from local suppliers or those meeting higher environmental standards, recognising that ‘food security is national security’.
Around £5 billion is spent on public sector food procurement each year, of which £2.4 billion specifically covers food buying. Yet much of this does not support domestic producers, sustainable farming or resilient local supply chains. At the same time, we are seeing deeply worrying drops in our farming capacity, with declines in UK vegetable production of 17% in open field areas and 33% in under-cover areas. More specifically, we have lost 3% of the farmed area around our largest towns and cities, along with a 6.6% drop in the number of holdings and a 27% reduction in specialist horticulture businesses in these areas.
With key policies now emerging, including the Land Use Framework, Food Strategy Action Plan and the 25-Year Farming Roadmap, there is a clear opportunity to deliver on this commitment and also help address the worrying decline in our farming capacity. If the government redirects half the estimated public sector food budget towards sustainable farming approaches, it could invest an extra £0.9 to £1.1 billion each year on top of the £2 billion already committed to sustainable farming by the government annually to 2030.
Achieving a 50% target for sustainable and local food procurement is critical: the former to do more through land management to tackle the climate and nature emergencies; the latter to support family farmers, to revitalise and grow the rural economy, including in areas of England left behind and in need of regeneration.
Improved public sector food procurement will also support delivery of wider government priorities, including economic growth, food security, net zero and nature recovery. A resilient, local and sustainable food system — supporting a thriving farming sector — is central to achieving these outcomes.
The opportunity for government
Redirecting 50% of public sector food procurement can deliver:
- Fair pay for farmers and local producers
- Stronger local economies, particularly on the edges of towns and cities and in harder-to-reach areas
- More sustainable farming and food systems
- Investment in local supply chains and infrastructure
- Improved food quality and catering capacity
- Strengthened national food security and resilience
The current procurement landscape
Current procurement arrangements are not yet fully aligned with the government’s ambitions for farming, nature recovery and climate action.
- Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services are applied inconsistently and are not always fully implemented; for example, schools are only loosely encouraged to use them.
- Monitoring and compliance are limited and not consistently measured.
- Cost can take precedence over quality and wider environmental or nutritional outcomes.
- Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face barriers to accessing procurement contracts due to complexity and cost.
These challenges can be addressed through clearer standards, improved monitoring and targeted support for suppliers and buyers.
Our recommended actions for government
- Set the 50% procurement target in policy
Use the forthcoming cross governmental Food Strategy Action Plan to formalise the commitment with a clear delivery timeline. This should set out actions for all government departments to deliver the target and identify the budget necessary to drive its delivery. - Strengthen and mandate Government Buying Standards for Food
Apply stronger standards on quality, sustainability and compliance consistently across the public sector, including the NHS and schools. - Prioritise food produced to higher environmental standards and support local supply chains
Expand the supply of food meeting recognised standards (for example, LEAF and organic) and enable more direct supply chains. - Align procurement with wider farming and land use policy
Commit to delivery of the target through the 25-Year Farming Roadmap and the Sustainable Farming Incentive, supporting growth in sustainable food production especially horticulture, Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), and organic systems.
Supporting evidence: case studies
Evidence from the UK and abroad shows that more sustainable and local procurement can be delivered within existing budgets and systems when supported by the right policy framework.
Examples from Denmark demonstrate that higher environmental standards can be achieved through menu reformulation, seasonal sourcing and reduced waste.
UK case studies, including Bath and North East Somerset, show that dynamic procurement can expand SME access while maintaining cost control. The government has already given support to boost local food procurement in five local authorities; including Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge Middlesbrough and Bury.
Existing tools, including Crown Commercial Service platforms, provide a foundation for scaling this approach.
Building local supply chains in Wales
Through Sustain’s Bridging the Gap programme, Food Sense Wales and supplier Castell Howell have worked with schools to increase the use of locally grown organic vegetables. With Welsh Government support, the programme now reaches half of Welsh local authorities, involving five suppliers and over 400 schools, and has delivered one million portions of organic produce in a year.
By supplying organic vegetables at a discount while ensuring fair returns to growers, the programme has supported an increase in land under nature-friendly production. Cost increases have been minimal. The model demonstrates how coordinated procurement, long-term relationships and targeted support can strengthen local supply chains and build resilience in the food system.
Dynamic procurement for school food in Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset Council has introduced a dynamic purchasing system for school food procurement, enabling contracts to be fulfilled by a mix of suppliers, including SMEs. This approach allows suppliers to move in and out of the system depending on availability, overcoming barriers associated with traditional framework contracts. By partnering with a local delivery hub and an online platform, the council has been able to manage supply from multiple producers efficiently. This demonstrates how procurement can be redesigned to support local supply chains and SME participation.
Delivering higher standards within existing budgets in Denmark
Denmark has set a 60% target for procurement of organic food in public kitchens, supported by wider policies to expand organic farming. Participating kitchens saw significant increases in organic procurement, with Copenhagen achieving particularly high levels.
Experience from Denmark shows that a transition to higher environmental standards can be delivered within existing budgets by reducing food waste, shifting to seasonal produce and increasing the use of plant-based ingredients. This approach has also delivered wider benefits, including improved diets and economic gains.
Local food sourcing through dynamic procurement in Bury
Bury Council has used a dynamic purchasing system to award school catering contracts to small, local food providers. This approach has enabled the council to meet quality requirements while maintaining cost control. By prioritising local sourcing, the model has supported economic growth, improved meal quality, and delivered wider health and wellbeing benefits for pupils.
With the right approach, the government can move towards achieving the 50% local food procurement while delivering wider economic, environmental and social value.
A phased system, combined with investment in supply chains and skills, will be necessary to enable supply to grow alongside demand, so making an early start on this commitment is essential to make strong progress during the remainder of this Parliament.
With focused action, this can support farmers, strengthen local economies and deliver measurable benefits for people, nature and the climate.
In summary, successful delivery of the 50% procurement target would deliver meaningful progress towards a more resilient, sustainable and equitable food system:
- A more resilient food system, with stronger domestic production and reduced dependence on imports
- Stronger farm and rural economies, with fairer returns and greater SME participation
- Progress on nature recovery and climate goals through expansion of sustainable farming
- Healthier public food, with more nutritious meals in schools, hospitals and other settings
- Better use of public spending, delivering greater overall value for money
A full version of our report is available.
Local and sustainable food buying: new ideas to help British farmers
The report provides a detailed examination of how sustainable, locally sourced food procurement can support the delivery of multiple government priorities and sets out comprehensive, cost-conscious recommendations.
Further reading and sources
School food matters https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/CoaSM-report.pdf
Independent Review into Public Sector Food Procurement
https://www.sustainweb.org/assets/independent-review-into-public-sector-food-procurement-may24-1717154707.pdf
Spending Review 2025: a commitment to farming
Pupils, patients and public sector workers to prosper through local food procurement https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pupils-patients-and-public-sector-workers-to-prosper-through-local-food-procurement
The Danish Organic Action Plan https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/knowledge-centre/policies/danish-organic-action-plan
What Would a Transformational Approach to Food Public Procurement Look Like? https://ukfoodsystems.ukri.org/research-projects-training-reports/what-would-a-transformational-approach-to-food-public-procurement-look-like/
