At a meeting of the Strategic Scrutiny panel last week Shropshire Council Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Nigel Hartin questioned some of the changes to the procurement of School meals which has led to some schools no longer being able to source meat, eggs & vegetables locally!
Cllr Hartin said, “Whilst it’s the case that a lot has been done to improve the quality of food served in schools & colleges across Shropshire, the new procurement rules have led in some cases to some primary school cooks no longer being able to source basics such as meat eggs & vegetables from local farmers & growers, but having to bus in ingredients in some cases from across the West Midlands”
Ludlow and Bridgnorth Parliamentary Candidate Heather Kidd agreed adding that “I know this has happened in Hope primary school in my area, it cannot be right that such local food can be rejected just because we have new tender rules in place forcing schools & colleges to use non local food sources. We have many local producers of quality food and we can see what they are able to supply at events like the Ludlow Food Fair.”
Following Cllr Hartin’s intervention the Strategic Overview Committee has now called for an urgent report on this issue to come back to its next meeting in January.