This fact sheet is published by Good Food for Our Money, which is campaigning for compulsory health and environmental standards in public sector food. Some public sector institutions say that they believe that European public procurement rules stop them from specifying environmental, ethical, health, social and animal welfare (‘sustainable food’) criteria in catering contracts paid for from the public purse. This fact sheet shows that in fact, both EU law and UK government policy strongly support sustainable food procurement in the public sector.

Download publication   More information

Good Food Training for London was set up in 2007 to provide free-of-charge food skills training to around 1,000 catering, procurement and other staff in schools, hospitals, prisons and care settings in London. The Mayor’s London Food Strategy recognised that to secure benefits to health, the environment and the London economy, catering staff needed the skills and knowledge to plan, prepare and serve healthy, seasonal and locally-produced menus. Based on practical experiences of what works and analysis of the barriers to change, this report develops recommendations for future training policy, next steps for the training project and practical activities for London and the wider public sector.

Download publication   More information

The UK baby food market is worth an estimated £315 million annually, and many food products marketed for babies and young children carry claims about their nutritional value, such as “added vitamins”, “contains calcium” or “no added salt”. Prompted by the discovery that a leading brand of biscuits for babies and young children contained trans fats, the Children’s Food Campaign undertook a survey of foods marketed for babies and young children, analysing the nutritional information provided for 107 foods marketed for babies and young children available from UK supermarkets. The findings were concerning.

Download publication   More information

This report details the outcome of the evaluation of phase two of the Good Food on the Public Plate project. This evaluation was run by F3: The local food consultants and found that without exception, participants welcomed the support the project provided. They also found that the project targets were very challenging but that there has undoubtedly been a positive, tangible contribution to increasing the level of sustainable consumption by target public sector organisations.

Download publication   More information

For many years parents and a range of public health groups have warned that children are being heavily targeted with marketing for junk food on, for example, TV, the internet and on posters near schools. However, largely hidden from parents, many companies have been developing materials for schools that are cleverly designed to promote their products in schools. These ‘teaching packs’ are usually available to download from company websites, although some packs are sent directly to schools. They are supposed to provide schools and children with factual and impartial ways of understanding the world around them. But this research by the Children’s Food Campaign has found a series of highly concerning features with this material.

Download publication   More information

The report 'Cut price, what cost?' (2008) rates the UK's leading supermarkets against each other, showing big differences between the supermarkets in terms of how they promote healthy eating to their customers, and make healthier food affordable. It is one of a series of 7 reports published by the National Consumer Council, working with Sustain and the Food Commission, that also measured and reported on supermarket progress across several years, 2004 to 2009. Links to all 7 reports are provided on the "more information" page.

Download publication   More information

A briefing paper by Sustain and the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN), explaining how social housing providers and their tenants can work together on their estates to grow food, and the many benefits that this brings for community cohesion, healthy eating and improving green space, especially for families living on a low income.

Download publication   More information

This is a report of a visit to urban food growing projects in the United States by a group of four people from different organisations based in London. It was organised by Sustain's London Food Link officer, Ben Reynolds, and funded by the US Embassy, who had previously brought Will Allen to London to talk about his project, Growing Power, in the USA.

Download publication   More information

This publication is a companion to Have you bottled it? How drinking tap water can help save you and the planet, that Sustain published in January 2007. It notes progress since then, here and globally, in encouraging the public and private sectors to use tap water instead of bottled water. It also looks at how the bottled water industry is responding to growing criticism of bottled water for being unnecessary, damaging to the environment, and expensive.

Download publication   More information

This publication aims to help orchard projects by supporting practitioners and local communities to enhance, protect and celebrate orchards.

Download publication   More information