The CLA said today that public procurement of locally produced food is still woefully inadequate.
CLA Vice-President Harry Cotterell attacked public bodies for not buying British - at the CLA’s St George’s Day brunch event, which featured a presentation on public procurement by CLA Head of Rural Business Development Dr Charles Trotman.
Mr Cotterell said: "The key statistic remains that out of a total public sector food annual budget of around £1.8billion, a mere two percent - equating to £36million - is spent on local food. This was in 2008 and nothing much has changed.
"The Government must throw its weight behind British farmers and growers and support local food and the British farming industry.
"The CLA believes public bodies must be incentivised to source food locally so that customers of the public sector are able to enjoy high quality local produce at a reasonable price."
The CLA Vice-President added: "Through the CLA’s Just Ask campaign, we have seen the general public is willing to be more aware of what they buy. In effect, the food supply chain is becoming more transparent, which is a laudable goal in its own right.
"Although the Government’s Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative should be applauded as a step in the right direction, the CLA stresses that the Government needs to encourage public sector bodies to source a much higher proportion of their food from local suppliers."