--- title: "Project to Improve School Food Procurement Practices" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS" published: "2025-08-20" --- # Project to Improve School Food Procurement Practices Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3.json) ## Summary The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is planning a project titled "Project to Improve School Food Procurement Practices" aimed at enhancing food procurement standards in schools across England. This initiative, still in the planning stage as of 20th August 2025, falls under the services industry category and comprises school catering services and the operation of educational centres. Suppliers interested in participating are required to submit their expressions of interest by 22nd August 2025. The project will be executed in the United Kingdom and aims to commence on 1st April 2026, running through to 31st March 2028, with a provisional budget of £5-8 million. The communication for future notices is set for 1st October 2025. This tender presents substantial opportunities for businesses, especially small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) specialising in school catering services and educational operations. Companies involved in sustainable food sourcing, waste reduction, and nutrition can leverage this project to showcase their practices and innovations. The emphasis on improving procurement standards, sustainability, and engaging pupils with the food system positions this initiative as an ideal opportunity for businesses seeking to contribute positively to educational food practices and wider local economic growth. ## Notice This project would set out to encourage best practice in school food procurement and support a wide range of positive outcomes, including improving the quality and sustainability of food sourced, reducing food waste, engaging children with the food system, improving access to Small-Medium Enterprises, and encouraging local economic growth. It would also directly contribute to the Food Strategy outcomes. The project objectives are: 1. Encourage food procurement best practice in the education sector - this would include: a. Sourcing of food in education settings which is seasonal, produced to higher environmental standards, and higher animal welfare standards (going above UK regulatory baseline but allowing for equivalence in other countries). b. Reducing food waste throughout education food procurement supply chains. c. Provision of food in education settings which is healthy and nutritious and accounts for the specific needs of the consumer. d. Sourcing of food in education settings from a diverse range of suppliers, particularly SMEs and VCSEs, with an aim to increase resilience, encourage food producers to innovate and help support the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area (as per the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012). 2. Support food education for pupils in a way which engages them with the opportunities and challenges across the food system, with the aim of teaching pupils about the importance of food, how it affects health, and about the relationship between food and farming (e.g. by setting up a school vegetable garden, conducting farm visits, providing cooking lessons, and adding aspects of food education to the curriculum). 3. Increase the transparency of and traceability within food supply chains in education settings to: a. Help improve accessibility for SMEs by addressing information failures whereby suppliers lack knowledge and understanding of how to access opportunities in the public sector and procurers are unsure of how to buy from local SMEs. b. Review compliance with the School Food Standards and the information available to enable evidencing compliance. c. Drive continuous improvement, including to overcome barriers to compliance with nutritional and food procurement rules and regulations. d. Build our understanding of what food is bought, served, sold and wasted. Defra has estimated a provisional budget of PS5-8 million for the project. However, the specific level of funding has not yet been finalised and could be subject to change as we refine the requirement for this project ### Planning Information Defra is seeking expressions of interests in delivering a project to support schools in England improve their food procurement standards and catering practices. Interested suppliers are asked to register their interest by completing the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/m89KSDYv9x This should be completed and submitted no later than 17:00 on the 22/08/2025. If you have any questions or issues with the form, please email emily.hayes@defra.gov.uk. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/050314-2025 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 20 Aug 2025 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 1 Oct 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1P 4DF | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 55524000 - School catering services - 80490000 - Operation of an educational centre ## Release History - 20 Aug 2025 at 15:25 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/050314-2025 - 31 Jul 2025 at 09:28 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044615-2025 - 31 Jul 2025 at 08:40 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044577-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/050314-2025 20th August 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044615-2025 31st July 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044577-2025 31st July 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome - https://forms.office.com/e/m89KSDYv9x - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0569c3.json.