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Councils including Middlesbrough, Brighton and Hove, Bristol and Cambridge will each receive £155,000 to improve how food is procured, increase the provision of healthier and more sustainable food options, and support local and small food businesses to understand better how to supply to the public sector. 

Food Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “With nearly £5 billion spent on food and catering in England each year, the public sector has enormous purchasing power. 

“That is a real opportunity to improve public health, back local businesses and build more sustainable food supply chains. By learning from those already leading the way, we can raise food procurement standards right across England and ensure our food procurement spend delivers for the local economy.”

England’s public sector spends £4.9 billion on food and catering each year. Lessons learned from the grants will help other councils across England source healthier, more sustainable and better value food.

The aim is to use public spending power to support more sustainable food procurement practices across England and work towards the government’s ambition for at least half of all public sector food to be sourced locally or certified to higher environmental standards.

The grants also build on each council’s Gold Food for Life Served Here or Gold Sustainable Food Places accreditation, recognising national-leading practice and long-term, transformational change in food procurement.  

Amit Dattani, director of Soil Association Food, added: “It’s a positive and encouraging step that our Soil Association programmes are understood for the lasting and transformative changes they create within a local food system.

“Through the investment into local procurement, data that will be collected and the spotlight on the programmes, this is an important opportunity to show just how much positive change can be implemented when time, expertise and funding is available to support a local food system.”