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The Real Bread Campaign is working to help put more Real Bread on the Menu of more hospitals.
Hospital patients are some of the people most in need of healthy nutritious food and you, being a taxpayer, pay for what they eat.
see also
When making purchasing decisions, NHS Trusts turn to a database of audited suppliers, referred to as the framework. When an invitation to tender for a new bread supply contract is published, companies listed on the framework have a head start in the process as they have been vetted already.
At present (November 2011) the framework lists just 19 suppliers in the ‘bread, milk, cream and morning goods’ category. We have contacted the NHS Supply Chain’s buyer for this category, who told us that they are always keen to find new local suppliers.
In October 2012, the Health Secretary announced new standards 'setting out what patients should expect from NHS hospital food.' When it comes to bread, can we trust that catering managers will adhere to the principle that food being 'nutritious and appetising' is now 'essential'?
In order for a food supplier to be considered for a framework listing, the enterprise must meet the following:
*If the enterprise does not have this, it will need to pass an NHS audit.
Though purchasing decisions are made by individual NHS Trusts, each of which will have its own requirements. The Real Bread Campaign sees this as a real opportunity for:
The set of suggested bread procurement criteria we have produced for schools has points that we would also like to see adopted by NHS Trusts.
If your bakery makes what the Campaign calls Real Bread, and meets the NHS Supply Chain criteria above, please email realbread [at] sustainweb.org with:
We’ll put you in contact with the NHS Supply Chain’s category buyer to begin the application process for a Category listing. He will also be able to answer any questions you might have about supplying the NHS.
We would love to publish cases studies to help inspire other hospitals, so if your hospital bakes Real Bread from scratch or buys it in from a local independent bakery, please get in touch. realbread [at] sustainweb.org
February 2011
Local sourcing but not Real Bread. Buys loaves and rolls from independent bakeries in Bradford and just outside Darlington, but has been unable to name any products made without the use of artificial addtives.
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