Bidfood is among 100+ businesses who have today signed a cross-sector letter sent to Andy Burnham calling on him to urgently introduce a Good Food Bill that would act as a legally binding framework that would improve national food and nutrition security, public health and food system resilience.
The letter calls on the new Prime Minister to ensure the food system becomes a national priority, alongside energy and defence. Other signatories include Booker owners Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Co-op, Waitrose and Booths as well manufacturers Danone, Greencore and Samworth Bros.
Andrew Selley, chief executive of Bidfood said, “As a foodservice wholesaler, we’re all too familiar with the risks and challenges of resilient food supply, from our network of UK fruit and vegetable growers who are dealing firsthand with all the challenges outlined in this letter, to the price increases that are experienced by both our public and private sector customers. I would entirely agree with the Labour election manifesto that ‘food security is national security’, so for this and more reasons, Bidfood entirely supports the call for a Good Food Bill”
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The letter states that, “Each new shock lands on a food system with less capacity to absorb it. British production of fruit and vegetables has fallen 16% since 2015, and we now import 78% of our supply. The next food shock is not a question of if, but when. To meet it prepared, food has to stop being an afterthought for the Government: we need mechanisms to put food high on the priority list of every part of government, both national and local, so that any decisions that impact on health, farming, planning, and trade secure better access to healthy and sustainable food for everyone.”
“The cost of doing nothing on this issue is already falling on those with the least resource, with food insecurity already affecting 15% of households with children. Economic pressures continue to push a healthy diet further out of reach for many, with the NHS then left to pick up the bill.”
