Delivering Sustainability: Towards the Creative Procurement of School Meals, 2005-2008

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This is a qualitative data collection. The goal of this research was to assess the role of the public sector in fostering sustainable food chains in the light of the recommendations provided in the UK by the Curry and the Obesity reports. To examine their claims about the role of public procurement for re-localising the agri-food sector and preventing the devastating effects of obesity on national health and economy, this project compared the school meal system in Italy, which is widely perceived to be a leader in the provision of healthy school food, with the UK and the US, where "healthy eating" initiatives are underway to improve children's diets. Specifically, the project focused on school meals in three different empirical contexts: 1) the macro-regulatory context of the EU reformed legislation on public procurement; 2) the national contexts of Italy and the UK, where such legislation is interpreted in contrasting ways; and 3) the local authority contexts of five case studies that are perceived to be exemplars of good practice in the procurement of school meals. By integrating the analysis of food production and consumption, this project aimed to understand the causes and effects of creative public procurement in East Ayrshire (Scotland), Carmarthenshire (Wales), South Gloucestershire (England), Piombino (Tuscany) and Rome (Lazio). London and New York were later added as case studies to include in the research issues of scale and urban food planning.