UFU urges greater use of local food in Northern Ireland schools and hospitals

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has called for more Northern Ireland-produced food to be served in schools, hospitals and other public sector institutions, arguing that taxpayers’ money could do more to support local farmers and strengthen the region’s food supply.

UFU deputy president Glenn Cuddy said recent debate over the sourcing of chicken products used in Northern Ireland school meals should prompt a wider conversation about where food bought by public bodies comes from.

The union said it did not want to become involved in arguments over religious certification or faith-based dietary requirements, following clarification from the Education Authority on chicken products used in school meals.

Instead, Mr Cuddy said the focus should be on how government procurement policies can increase opportunities for locally produced food.

‘Support local farmers and food producers’

Mr Cuddy said:

“From a UFU perspective, the more important discussion is how government and public bodies can do more to support local farmers and food producers through their procurement policies.

“Northern Ireland farmers produce food to some of the highest standards in the world. Our members are rightly proud of the quality, welfare, traceability and sustainability credentials that underpin local food production.”

The UFU argues the issue extends considerably beyond schools, with substantial quantities of food also purchased for hospitals and other public sector facilities across Northern Ireland.

Mr Cuddy said food security, resilient supply chains and support for local economies should increasingly influence how that money is spent.

“The money spent on school meals, hospital catering and wider public sector food procurement should, wherever possible and practical, deliver benefits for local communities and local farming families,” he said.

“We have consistently argued that domestic food producers need to be placed at the centre of future food policy, linking our ability to provide high-quality, nutritious food with the health and wellbeing of people across Northern Ireland.”

Greater recognition of where food comes from

The UFU has previously argued that public procurement could be used to strengthen domestic supply chains, improve food security and provide greater support for rural economies.

It wants procurement processes to give greater recognition to food provenance, sustainability and opportunities to source produce locally.

Mr Cuddy also believes schools have a role beyond simply providing meals, offering an opportunity for children and young people to understand how their food is produced and where it comes from.

“Consumers increasingly want to know where their food comes from and how it is produced,” he said.

“Northern Ireland schools provide an important opportunity to educate young people about food production and to strengthen the connection between the food on their plates and the farmers who produce it.”

‘What more can be done?’

Mr Cuddy said the contribution of agriculture to Northern Ireland’s economy, countryside and food supply should also be reflected when decisions are made about public sector purchasing.

“Local farmers manage the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s countryside while producing safe, affordable and nutritious food,” he said.

“Public procurement should recognise the wider economic, social and environmental benefits that come from supporting local agriculture.

“Rather than focusing solely on where individual products originate from at a particular point in the supply chain, we should be asking what more can be done to increase the amount of local food reaching public sector kitchens.

“That is a conversation which benefits farmers, consumers, pupils and taxpayers alike.”

The UFU said it now wants to work with government departments, the Education Authority and the wider agri-food industry to explore how local food procurement can be strengthened.

Any change would ultimately depend on how future public procurement arrangements are designed and implemented, but the union’s intervention shifts the debate towards a broader question: how much of the public money already being spent feeding pupils, patients and others could also be used to support Northern Ireland’s own food-producing economy?