The Source

Fundamental to the creation of any robust solution to establishing new local supply chains in the food service sector is an in-depth understanding of existing processes, grass roots behaviour, current challenges and success stories. This is why I am so excited to be partnering with Love British Food to uncover these.



Nature is a connected ecosystem. Sustainability is a connected challenge. Our food system is one of the key areas where we need to make significant improvements, but its complexity and diversity can sometimes seem overwhelming. Time is against us and we need to work together for a complete solution. Last year I launched Tried and Supplied to overcome the operational barriers to sustainable sourcing and enable the whole food service supply chain to collaborate better for the benefit of people, planet and purse.

Through the use of improved software and data management, we can break down silos, offer actionable insights, and encourage connected, collaborative thinking to regenerate our broken food system. Imagine accessing all allergen, nutritional and sustainability information at the click of a button. Imagine spotting high margin opportunities to prevent waste elsewhere in the network. Imagine the time and cost benefits of consolidated invoices and deliveries.

Over the next few months we will be building on the already excellent work of Love British Food to encourage caterers large and small to work with more British producers. Our focus will be on conducting interviews with caterers across the public sector, introducing caterers to local suppliers, and following up on case studies. The results will be published as a series of reports in Public Sector Catering magazine next year. These reports will acknowledge differences between public sector caterers and present the challenges and solutions to local sourcing as a practical guide for each individually.