Sustainable food for event organisers

Food can be a positive, colourful and engaging way to help people lead healthier and more sustainable lives, and to help farmers and food makers make a good living from sustainable food, and hence support ethical food production. Event caterers can help achieve these benefits through responsible purchasing and good catering practice. Conversely, when caterers and event managers do not take action, the food they serve can have significant negative effects, from contributing to people's poor health, to inadvertently supporting farming and fishing practices that damage the environment.

Sustain encourages catering companies, and those that commission catering such as venues and events organisers (i.e. most of us!), to adopt healthy and sustainable food policies. We - and our specialist members and associates - have helped many such organisations to adopt sustainable food policies, sometimes providing the practical support or training to turn ambition into reality. In fact, this work is considered by many to be so important to improve people's health and protect the environment that support work is sometimes offered free of charge, or subsidised by charitable or Lottery funds.

Several large and influential organisations that arrange events, or run venues, have recently taken action to improve the healthiness and sustainability of the food they serve, for example:

• In 2009, the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games adopted a London 2012 Food Vision, setting out their commitments to use - for example - sustainable fish; British and seasonal food; Fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and bananas; higher animal welfare chicken and pork products - including free range eggs; and food that promotes health and wellbeing. Find out more on the Olympic Food web pages. Organisers of future games and sports events are also showing a strong interest in adopting similar sustainable food policies, such as Rio 2016 (Summer Games) and Soches 2014 (Winter Games).
• In 2010, the Greater London Authority adopted the London 2012 Food Vision standards for catering for the GLA, the London Metropolitan Police, Transport for London and the London Fire Brigade. It is now seeking to apply the standards in events contracts associated with the London 2012 Games, such as catering at the Live Sites where screens will broadcast the Games to thousands of viewers. Find out more on the Good Food on the Public Plate web pages.
• In 2011, the United Nations Environment Programme recommended a far-reaching sustainable food policy for UN canteens. Find out more on the Sustainable Fish City web pages, with links to the full policy and background materials.
• Since 2010, The National Trust has been helping its members and visitors celebrate the best of local and seasonal food, through its Food, Glorious Food programme. The National Trust is also developing work with its tenant farmers, and with its catering procurement staff, to ensure that the food they serve matches and communicates the sustainability, conservation and heritage commitments of the organisation. This includes a commitment, in 2011, to serving sustainable fish - a commitment also matched in 2011 by ten leading London universities.

If you are a catering or events company who would like to adopt a sustainable food policy, find out more by contacting:

• For caterers, venues, events managers or others (public and private sector) interested in adopting a sustainable food buying policy, Kath Dalmeny (member of the London 2012 Food Advisory Group, and Policy Director, Sustain): kath@sustainweb.org
• For caterers in the southeast and London areas interested in practical aspects of implementing sustainable food, Emily Crawley, Ethical Eats: emily@sustainweb.org
• For caterers, venues, events managers or others interested in buying and promoting sustainable fish, Jon Walker, Sustainable Fish City: jon@sustainweb.org

Read the Seven Principles of Sustainable Food at: www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefood

Download Serving up sustainability: A guide to sustainable food for restaurants and caterers:

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      one-page summary

Download a simplified one-page summary for commissioning sustainable food for meetings and events.