NFU leads by example in its Buy British campaign

CATERERS are being urged to buy British by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

From its headquarters at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, the NFU is practicing what it is preaching in its Buy British campaign by using British and locally-sourced produce in its in-house catering.

And it is encouraging other organisations with their own catering provisions to buy food produced on British farms, with an invitation to visit its catering operation to see first-hand how to take up the cause.

The Buy British campaign was launched in the wake of the recent scandal involving horsemeat being passed off as beef in some imported frozen foods, which highlighted the complexity of the food chain in some overseas products.

As well as showing support for British farmers, the campaign aims to rebuild consumer confidence by promoting the quality and traceability of food from British farms.

Pauline Pentland, catering manager at the NFU, said: “It wasn’t hard to find local suppliers – the key is to have the full support of the organisation that you are catering for and I have that with the NFU as it is committed to promoting British and locally-sourced produce.

“For in-house caterers with that support, this would be an easy model to follow and I would welcome anyone to come and see how it works to help them achieve the same.”

Pentland is responsible for catering for more than 150 employees at the NFU headquarters.

NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond said: “It is hugely important that we lead by example when we call on consumers to ‘Buy British’.

“The NFU represents farmers and growers from across the country, all working extremely hard to produce fresh, quality British food. It is essential for us at the NFU to support this and our ethos of sourcing – and encouraging others to source – local, British food.”