On January 29th, the Procurement for Good team assembled in Dumfries, Scotland.

On January 29^th, the Procurement for Good team assembled in Dumfries, Scotland. Colleagues from the Open Food Network, Social Farms & Gardens, Coventry University, Cambridge Food Hub and Cultivate all gathered for a roundtable event at The Bridge, hosted by Propagate and the Galloway Food Hub.

We were joined by a fantastic spread of key stakeholders in the procurement discussion for the region, with representation from Dumfries & Galloway (D&G) Council, the NHS, D&G College, Aramark, Soil Association and local farmers.

After an introduction to the Procurement for Good (PFG) project we shared visions for public procurement in Dumfries and Galloway, discussing what assets are already in place, what work has already happened that we can build on and where we want to go from here.

We’ve listed a few key takeaways from the roundtable:

• Public food procurement is about getting good quality, nutritious food to everyone. It is equalising.
• Dumfries and Galloway has great producers who care about soil health, nutrition and feeding folk good food, we’re not starting from scratch.
• Galloway Food Hub started in just 2020 with 11 small scale producers and 25 consumers. It now has 33 local producers and supplies over 100 food boxes every other week. Demand for fresh, local food is growing.
• Scotland’s Good Food Nation Act will trigger all public bodies to create their own good food plans as well as the need for regional food plans. An exciting moment and opportunity for everyone in food, farming and procurement!
• There’s a lot already happening in schools, with specific standards on eggs and quantities of fresh veggies, bolstered by a focus on home cooking and supported by the Good Food Nation directive.
• Producers struggle with a lack of local infrastructure to process, add value and distribute food locally.
• Environmental standards are a potential way to support local farmers and make links with public procurers.
• Evidenced by participating bodies in the roundtable, Dumfries and Galloway already has a well-developed network of people who want to improve public procurement!
  

A tentative steering group was set-up, with everyone in the room committing to working together to find ways to improve communication and collaboration between producers and procurers, with the aim of getting local, nutritious food on the public plate! Watch this space!

The following day, the Procurement for Good team was treated to a whistlestop tour of some of the producers that sell through the Galloway Food Hub. Torr Organic Dairy, Greenlaw Greens and the Food Hub itself, all running on determination, innovation and a commitment to good, local and nutritious food.

We’ll be back up to Dumfries again soon and look forward to working together to improve public food procurement in the region, linking procurers with some of the fantastic producers from just down the road.

Thank you Propagate and the Galloway Food Hub!