More Organic Produce In Schools Would Drive ‘Substantial Market’ For UK Growers, Says Sustain

Getting more UK‑grown organic fruit and vegetables into school meals would simultaneously benefit children’s health, local growers, and the environment, while strengthening the UK’s food resilience in the face of war, climate shocks, and import dependence, according to Sustain’s latest Bridging the Gap report. 

Drawing on three pilot projects in schools, the report, titled: How to make school food work for children, farmers and planet, finds that school meal programmes that invest in organic fruits and vegetables could drive a substantial market for UK growers, and reduce reliance on imported produce.

To that end, targeted public investment and procurement reform could turn the £5 billion public food spend into a powerful lever for local, small and medium-sized suppliers to access school contracts. 

London Pilot Swapped Imports

Sustain’s research is based on three school pilots in Scotland, Wales, and London which linked nature‑friendly farmers with local businesses and school caterers.

The trials enabled over 75,000 children – around a third from low‑income communities – to eat organic fruit and vegetables at school. 

In London, two primary schools worked with Growing Communities to swap imported non‑organic vegetables for seasonal organic produce from growers in South East England, rolling out seasonal menu changes with taste‑testing and food education.

Opportunity For National Expansion

Those involved said the pilots underscore both the urgency and opportunity to replicate and scale up these regional trials across the rest of the UK in order to support regional supply chains, keep profits circulating locally, and reduce climate impacts on food production. 

As such, Sustain is calling on the government to invest in local food infrastructure so that school food expansion boosts local, sustainable British farming as well as children’s diets.

Sustain’s Kiloran O’Leary stresses that import reliance undermines national resilience, arguing that connecting organic farmers to schools yields “huge dividends” for communities. 

“Food system reliance on imports puts the UK in an extremely vulnerable position and threatens our long-term resilience as a nation,” explained O’Leary, who authored the report. 

“We need to support our own local agro-ecological farmers instead, and what better way than getting more UK-grown organic fruit and veg into schools so our children can benefit too? 

“Our pilots show that investment in supply chains that connect organic farmers to schools can deliver huge dividends for local communities. Now it’s time for the government to scale them up for the whole of the UK.” 

Higher Returns In Schools Than Retail

By integrating more local organic fruit and vegetables into school meals, the report found that every £1 of additional investment delivered £9.46 in combined local economic, health and environmental value.

The returns in schools are even higher than in retail settings, as found in an earlier Bridging the Gap report in retail settings, which showed that every £1 of public investment matched by £1.10 from shoppers generated £8.78 for local areas.

Sustain attributes the higher returns in schools to shorter supply chains, stronger community engagement such as farm visits, and the way public contracts help small and medium‑sized suppliers to secure stable markets. 

Action Plan For Government

Sustain believes scaling these kinds of pilots across the UK, and directing public procurement contracts towards British agroecological growers, is “essential” to reduce reliance on imports, respond to ecological threats highlighted in recent government warnings, and meet the government’s pledge that 50% of food in public settings should be local or sustainable.

The organisation is therefore calling on the government to honour this commitment, recommending three key focus areas:

1. Fix the supply – Facilitate new supply chains that work with and for small and medium growers.

2. Fix the missing middle – Invest in local food infrastructure to help smaller producers get fresh produce into public sector contracts.

3. Fix the access – Reform public sector funding and standards to create stable markets for organic and local produce. 

Read the full report here.