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Jayne Jones is incredible. She used to be Chair of ASSIST FM that represents 32 Scottish Local Authorities. She is currently Assistant Director for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. She has, therefore, experience of both school and hospital catering.
She has participated in a number of Scottish Government steering groups including those developing Local Food Strategies, ending the need for food banks in Scotland and in developing proposals for the next Scottish Organic Food Action Plan.
The plate of food in front of a patient in an NHS Scotland hospital might seem like a small detail in the grand scheme of healthcare, but for Jayne Jones, Assistant Director for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Chair of the Public Sector Catering Alliance, it represents a significant opportunity.
As an advocate for sustainable food systems within NHS Scotland, Jayne is at the forefront of a movement to integrate more locally farmed and produced food into the public diet across the nation. As a former Chair of ASSIST FM, which represents 32 Scottish local authorities, she has experience of both school and hospital catering and feels passionately about what she is doing. This isn't just about nutrition; it's about public health, climate change, community, and supporting Scotland's diverse agricultural landscape.
The ambition to transform public sector food procurement in Scotland is rooted in legislative foresight. The Good Food Nation Act, enshrined in law in Scotland in 2022, places a duty on all local authorities and health boards to leverage their power, including public food procurement, to create sustainable food system shifts. This includes improving meal quality, enhancing sustainability credentials related to climate change, biodiversity loss, and animal welfare, and addressing health inequalities, poverty, and education.
As Jayne explains, “Because we now have a requirement to do something about that, we are going to see changes.”
These changes will be driven by five-year plans, reviewed every two years.
One of the most tangible examples of this commitment is the forthcoming Scottish Organics Action Plan, which is anticipated to potentially include public procurement as one of its key pillars. This plan may mandate government, local authority, and public body commitments to foster organic growth within Scotland.
“We are seeing much tighter controls,” says Jayne, “and so there's less of that fear around the ‘nanny state’ that we find in other parts of the UK.”
This proactive legislative environment sets Scotland apart and provides a robust framework for ambitious food strategies.
However, the path to a fully localised public food system isn’t without its challenges, such as the inherent differences between urban and rural environments. Jayne, having worked in the very rural Argyll and Bute Council and now in the urban NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, understands this firsthand.
“What works in a certain place won't necessarily lift and lay somewhere else,” she says.
Rural areas might have direct access to farms, while urban centres need to establish strong supply chains that bring Scottish produce into the city.
Despite these variations, the commitment to Scottish food remains steadfast. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, for instance, actively procures Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) red meat, ensuring that even without local farms, the meat served is of high accreditation standard and Scottish origin. The same applies to fish, with a focus on MSC-certified Scottish catches, supporting the nation's "blue economy."
The question of meat consumption, particularly red meat, is a nuanced one. While acknowledging the climate arguments, Jayne emphasises the importance of supporting Scottish farming communities and providing dietary balance, including essential nutrients like iron. The approach is holistic, exploring opportunities like incorporating wild venison, which is already part of the Scottish landscape in abundance with Argyll and Bute Council undertaking a pilot to provide wild venison in school meals on the islands of Islay and Jura. This also involves balancing costs by exploring other protein sources and encouraging diversification in farming to meet public sector needs. An inspiring example is the “Bridge the Gap” project in Aberdeen, where the local authority, in collaboration with Sustain and the Soil Association, is introducing organic peas on to public plates. This initiative supports local farmers, provides sustainable organic food, and diversifies protein options.
Engaging farmers and food producers in public sector procurement is crucial but complex. The tender process can be daunting for smaller, local producers. Jones highlights the need for building relationships years in advance, offering pilots, and sharing information about volumes and product requirements.
“The balance of risk sits with them, not with us,” she admits.
By fostering trust and demonstrating the benefits – such as timely payments and regular income – public bodies can encourage farmers to engage.
“We pay our bills on time and we’re a regular income. You know, we don’t want your premier product. They can still go to your higher restaurants, but we do want the rest of it, and we’ll pay a fair price, and we will pay you regularly.”
When asked to share lessons with other parts of the UK, Jayne offers three key points:
- Target specific commodities: focus on products that are readily available locally and are popular with customers. This requires realism about what can be procured in a given region.
- Build relationships through pilots: nurture connections with producers, talk to them, build trust, and pilot initiatives to demonstrate success. Shared values around providing high-quality, sustainable food for improved health outcomes and community wealth building are vital.
- Learn from others: don’t reinvent the wheel. There’s a wealth of good practice across the UK, including in England and Wales. A customer-centric approach, focusing on the positive impact on patients, children, and young people, helps drive motivation. “Don’t try and do everything at once,” she advises.
Looking beyond Scotland, Jayne is actively involved with the PSCA in establishing an all-party parliamentary group on public sector food, a significant undertaking to create a platform for dialogue among politicians, decision-makers, supply chain partners, and NGOs. The aim is to bridge gaps in understanding and highlight the real-world issues facing public catering, from staffing shortages to the impact of policy changes on small schools. The ultimate goal, Jayne reiterates, is to get “patients, children, all of our customers… enjoying eating nutritious food that’s grown in Scotland.”
The absence of public sector representation on the UK's new Food Strategy Advisory Board and the recent shelving of the Food and Drink Sector Council are pressing concerns for Jayne, and a disappointment to her. While Scotland and Wales have their own enabling legislation (the Good Food Nation Act and the Well-being of Future Generations Act, respectively), the vacuum in England, where public caterers provide 2.6 billion meals, underscores the critical need for their voice at the table.
For Jayne Jones, her commitment to this work is deeply personal and her strength of belief in its value radiates from her. Her mother, a former dinner lady, instilled in her the value of good quality, homemade food cooked from scratch.
She says: “I know the value that that means for our children and young people and for families”. This personal connection, combined with the immense privilege of providing decent meals to the most vulnerable in society, fuels and inspires her daily to strive for positive change.
Interview conducted by Catherine Austen on behalf of Love British Food
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