Vale of York MP Ann McIntosh has made a special visit to North Yorkshire County Council's school meals service to see how it is leading the country in encouraging local suppliers and growers to provide fresh food to school kitchens. The MP also helped to celebrate the success of a Scarborough-based company, Stuart Foods Ltd, in winning a contract for supplying many of the county's schools , elderly people's homes and outdoor education centres with fruit and vegetables.

Stuart's will now be responsible for supplying over 250 establishments with produce sourced from growers in the Yorkshire and Humberside area.

As part of its drive to ensure that food prepared in school kitchens across the county is both fresh and local in a bid to drive up quality and reduce food miles North Yorkshire County Caterers, the school meals service, has been providing support and encouragement to local suppliers as part of the tendering process for contracts.

North Yorkshire's school dinners service has already been singled out by the School Food Trust as a beacon of good practice and leader of the field in the use of fresh, locally sourced and nutritious ingredients. It was also one of the first local authorities to meet the Governments exacting new nutritional standards for school meals

Stuart Foods has grown continuously over the past 20 years and now employs 25 people and has nine delivery vans on the road every day.

By expanding its own business Stuart's has also supported increasing numbers of local and regional growers in getting their goods to market. Last year Stuart Foods won the Fresh Produce Category in the "Deliciously Yorkshire" awards.

County Councillor Jim Clark, North Yorkshire's Executive Member for Schools said: "I am delighted to see a local business successfully tendering for council contracts and not only employing local people but also supplying healthy locally grown produce for use in school meals"

Picture shows: (left to right) Nick Postma, Deputy General Manager, North Yorkshire County Caterers;Ann McIntosh, MP; Stuart Howarth, Director, Stuarts Foods; County Councillor Jim Clark, Executive Member for Schools

05-02-10