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Clarissa tells North East councils: ?Buy British food?

Television cook and countrywoman, Clarissa Dickson Wright, is leading a campaign urging public bodies to buy and serve more British produce.

According to the Countryside Alliance, the vast majority of public bodies in the North East do not have a formal policy in place for sourcing and procuring UK-produced food.

A survey carried out by the Countryside Alliance asked local authorities about their procurement policy, and of the nine local authorities in the North East who responded only four were able to say how much British produce they procure: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council procures 70% of its food from Britain; Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council procures 65%; Darlington Borough Council 60% and Durham County Council 57%.

Clarissa Dickson Wright said: “The amount spent by the public sector in England and Wales on food is £1.8 billion pounds, which is a huge amount – and would offer enormous support to our hard pressed British farmers especially in these troubled times.

“One day instead of driving through towns that label themselves ‘A Fairtrade Town’ or ‘A Town in Bloom’ or even ‘A Nuclear Free Town’ I want to see a banner that reads ‘A Local Food Town’. Now that’s something we can all work towards.”

The Countryside Alliance has published a Rural Manifesto ahead of the General Election, and wants all political parties to adopt a policy to encourage public bodies, such as councils, to prioritise the procurement of British produce.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .