Pilot Project Under Public Sector Procurement Initiative Phase 2

Background

This educational programme was aimed at primary school children to help improve their diet through an increased uptake of healthier meals produced using food grown locally. It also increased the capacity of local suppliers to meet the demands of local consumers. The programme was developed during a similar exercise in autumn 2004.

What is the problem you are trying to solve?

We are trying to improve the education of younger children regarding their meal choices and ensure that locally produced food is eaten in schools. We aim to improve knowledge and influence younger children to choose a more balanced diet throughout the day.

What local organisations are involved?

Some funding was successfully bid for through the Government Office of the South West (GOSW) Public Procurement Project.

How many people are running this project and who are they?

The project was run as a partnership between Somerset County Services (SCS), Somerset Food Links and GOSW. SCS suppliers also contributed to the content of the educational presentations.

What local population are you targeting?

The target population was primary school children, aged 4-11 years.

How many people are you targeting?

The total number of children within the schools targeted through this project was 738 in total although the main focus of the project was with children at Key Stage 2 of their education.

Interventions

What interventions are you using to address the problem?

Children kept electronic and paper food diaries detailing all food consumed during the day for two different weeks. In between the two weeks of diary writing, children took part in farm visits, educational assemblies, nutrition talks, visits from the SCS healthy eating mascot, Archie the Bear, and enjoyed a sausage making exercise.

There were six objectives agreed by the project team at the outset of the project:

1. Unroll the approach developed in the Somerset Coast area to the whole county;

2. Develop a localised supply chain for the dairy sector to SCS outlets, and for other sectors identified in the report;

3. Work with West Somerset Community College to audit and improve their supply chain;

4. Work with Meare School and school community to develop a proposal for a community catering operation using local supply chain;

5. Develop a programme of training and support for producers wishing to supply school caterers either through nominated wholesalers or directly to the caterer; and

6. Produce report on pilot project for dissemination.

These six objectives were all met.

Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.

No.

Outcome

What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?

Children’s food diaries were analysed during the two separate periods when they were kept by the children and the results were compared to identify any changes. We looked for evidence of improvements in choice of food.

Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?

The outcome of this project built on the lessons learnt from a previous project in 2004. The level of understanding of the children concerning the value of fruit and vegetables in their diet was noticeably improved compared with the level of understanding noted during the previous project in 2005.

The number of visitor hits to the SCS My School Lunch website was at its highest level since the initial project was operational. Figures were the second highest since the website was set up.

Our report has now been published: somerset.gov.uk/media/EA0/CD/LocalFoodReport.pdf.

Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?

No.

Feedback

What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?

Health and safety concerns meant some planned visits to suppliers and producers were not possible and alternative arrangements were required.

What have you learned about the project so far?

The following recommendations were made in our report:

• Continue to develop relationships with farms wishing to offer visits to school children.
• Provide assurance to those farms initially unwilling to participate through development of written guidance in association with the Local Education Authority (LEA), and other forms of practical support.
• Increase the complexity of questions asked of children in future interactive sessions to reflect the increased knowledge of a balanced diet as well as a wider range of products.
• Continue to develop a range of activities including visits by producers to schools, tastings, and other curriculum links.
• A high proportion of the farms refused visits. Most often the reasons cited involved concerns about liability and risk, as they felt that they, rather than the school, had the greatest responsibility in this area.
• It can be difficult to engage thoroughly with the school and attention to detailed planning is required. It is essential to involve all interested parties including governors, teaching staff, pupils and parents.

What would you do differently?

The time required for this project was underestimated and a part time person dedicated to the project would have been helpful.