Award

DEFRA Food Procurement Sustainability with the NHS

NHS ENGLAND

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

20 Feb 2026 at 14:58

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process involves NHS England, situated in London, collaborating with the Soil Association to enhance food sustainability across NHS hospital sites. The project, funded by DEFRA, is part of a direct procurement method without competition, focusing on the provision of higher environmental standards in food services. This entails evaluating the spread of sites covered by the Soil Association's assurance scheme to identify gaps, with particular attention to different healthcare site types such as acute, community, and mental health, as well as various meal service types including cook-fresh and cook-freeze. This award stage of the procurement is complete, with the contract active from 2nd February 2026 to 31st March 2026, valued at £28,000 GBP net.

This tender opens avenues for businesses specialising in high-quality, sustainable food services, particularly those with experience in health service delivery or the supply of environmentally sustainable products. Given the Soil Association's established credibility and national recognition, businesses partaking or wishing to join similar frameworks or assurance programmes could find partnership opportunities that enhance their reach and operational scope within the public health sector. Small to large enterprises with capabilities in managing diverse meal service types and implementing sustainable practices across varying healthcare environments will find this as a pivotal growth opportunity.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo
All Features Pricing

Notice Information

Notice Title

DEFRA Food Procurement Sustainability with the NHS

Notice Description

We require the Soil Association to link directly with hospital sites that are striving to improve their food services, exchanging information on Higher Environmental Standards of food in the NHS. The Soil Association resource contracted as part of the project will draw up the spread of sites currently covered by their assurance scheme and identify the gaps to obtain as representative a sample of sites as possible that cook food in the NHS, based on their meal service type and their site type. As a purposeful gauge across healthcare sites: acute, community and mental health care sites will be used. This will include a full range of service types to include cook-fresh, cook-freeze and plated. Funding is from DEFRA The Soil Association brings nationally recognised expertise, credibility, and an established track record in supporting organisations to provide high-quality, sustainable meals. Their Food for Life framework champions fresh,

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-065975
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015759-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - without competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£28,000 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Feb 20262 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
2 Feb 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
2 Feb 2026 - 31 Mar 2026 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS ENGLAND
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
england.commercialqueries@nhs.net
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8UG
Post Town
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI45 Lambeth
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Lambeth
Electoral Ward
Waterloo & South Bank
Westminster Constituency
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SOIL ASSOCIATION

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-065975-2026-02-20T14:58:21Z",
    "date": "2026-02-20T14:58:21Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-065975",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PDPT-3135-BWWY",
            "name": "NHS England",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PDPT-3135-BWWY"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Wellington House, 133-135 Waterloo Rd",
                "locality": "London",
                "postalCode": "SE1 8UG",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI45"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "england.commercialqueries@nhs.net"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://www.england.nhs.uk/",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public authority - central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-FTS-175049",
            "name": "Soil Association",
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Spear House, 51 Victoria Street, Bristol",
                "locality": "Bristol",
                "postalCode": "BS1 6AD",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKK11"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "cert.complaints@soilassociation.org"
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ],
            "details": {
                "scale": "large",
                "vcse": false
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PDPT-3135-BWWY",
        "name": "NHS England"
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "C425708",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "DEFRA Food Procurement Sustainability with the NHS",
        "description": "We require the Soil Association to link directly with hospital sites that are striving to improve their food services, exchanging information on Higher Environmental Standards of food in the NHS. The Soil Association resource contracted as part of the project will draw up the spread of sites currently covered by their assurance scheme and identify the gaps to obtain as representative a sample of sites as possible that cook food in the NHS, based on their meal service type and their site type. As a purposeful gauge across healthcare sites: acute, community and mental health care sites will be used. This will include a full range of service types to include cook-fresh, cook-freeze and plated. Funding is from DEFRA The Soil Association brings nationally recognised expertise, credibility, and an established track record in supporting organisations to provide high-quality, sustainable meals. Their Food for Life framework champions fresh,",
        "status": "complete",
        "procurementMethod": "direct",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Below threshold - without competition",
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "status": "complete"
            }
        ]
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "1",
            "status": "active",
            "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-FTS-175049",
                    "name": "Soil Association"
                }
            ],
            "items": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "additionalClassifications": [
                        {
                            "scheme": "CPV",
                            "id": "85100000",
                            "description": "Health services"
                        }
                    ],
                    "relatedLot": "1"
                }
            ],
            "relatedLots": [
                "1"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "contracts": [
        {
            "id": "1",
            "awardID": "1",
            "title": "DEFRA Food Procurement Sustainability with the NHS",
            "status": "active",
            "period": {
                "startDate": "2026-02-02T00:00:00Z",
                "endDate": "2026-03-31T23:59:59+01:00"
            },
            "value": {
                "amountGross": 33600,
                "amount": 28000,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "aboveThreshold": false,
            "dateSigned": "2026-02-02T00:00:00Z",
            "documents": [
                {
                    "id": "015759-2026",
                    "documentType": "contractNotice",
                    "noticeType": "UK7",
                    "description": "Contract details notice on Find a Tender",
                    "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015759-2026",
                    "datePublished": "2026-02-20T14:58:21Z",
                    "format": "text/html"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "language": "en"
}