Action Briefing Jun 2003 - Jul 2003
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

Local Government, Local Food

Local Government, Local Food - Wednesday 9th July 2003, Wolverhampton Race Course, 9.00am-4.30pm: a conference on the opportunities for public procurement of local food in the West Midlands. Localise West Midlands, in partnership with Advantage West Midlands, Sustain, Local Food Works and the Countryside Agency are organising a conference on the opportunities for public procurement of local food in the West Midlands Region.

Moving over to more localised supply chains can bring economic benefits to a region, help to enhance linkages between urban and rural communities, improve food quality in public institutions and can be significant in environmental terms by helping to reduce ‘food miles’, i.e. the distance which food is transported.

As these benefits gain recognition, public procurement of local food is becoming an important issue. Government support and recent research on the subject have generated much new knowledge on how public bodies can procure locally within existing legislation, and on the many economic and other benefits of doing so.

The conference will use this knowledge and the experience of those involved in both supply side and procurement to identify how a greater proportion of the food supply for public bodies can be supplied by regional sources.

The programme is still being finalised but speakers will be:

• Jeremy Pope, Sustainable Farming and Food Implementation Group - government support for local procurement and recent/forthcoming government guidance and targets
  
• James Petts, Sustain - what can and can’t be done to localise food procurement within EU and UK law.
  
• Clive Peckham, East Anglia Food Links - examples mainly from school food procurement of various scales, in the UK and (where relevant) in Europe.
  
• Mark Summers/Nathan Harrow, Cornwall NHS - Cornwall NHS’s local food public procurement initiative
  
• Michael Oakes, West Midlands NFU and Worcestershire Rural Hub, will also be on the panel for Q and A to give the supply side view.
• The conference will identify practical action that can be undertaken towards increasing regional supply, and offer opportunities to participate in pilot schemes and other support work.
  

Sustain’s forthcoming guide to sustainable public procurement and a new report from Localise West Midlands on public procurement regulations will also be available to view at the event.

The conference is aimed very specifically at those with a responsibility for making or influencing decisions about food in the local authority, health and education sectors, and will also be attended by some producers and others from the supply side.

Attendance at the conference is by invitation only but if you are West Midlands-based and feel it would be directly relevant to your work you are welcome to ring me at Localise West Midlands on 0121 685 1155 or email us at info@localisewestmidlands.org.uk to discuss this further. More information on LWM can be found on our website www.localisewestmidlands.org.uk

Karen Leach