New first of its kind CCS agreement for public sector food procurement goes live

The Buying Better Food and Drink [RM6279] commercial agreement will reshape how public sector customers procure their food and drink requirements with a simplified route to market and greater access to an extensive range of reliable and sustainable food and drink suppliers.

The agreement will ensure standards of food safety and quality by following the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair’s (Defra) Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. 

Sustainability will be a key priority. In addition to less food waste generated by procuring the right product for the need and the potential benefit of less food mileage, depending upon the scope of the customer requirement, the supplier will also now work with customers and suppliers to share sustainability best practice. 

Reducing carbon footprint within the industry is an overarching goal the framework will work towards. It will offer a buying solution that allows customers to better understand the broader impacts of their purchases and to make sourcing choices based on both ethical and environmental criteria. By sourcing from sustainable producers through transparent supply chains, buyers can incentivise farmers to adopt more eco-friendly practices through increased demand.

As this is a new agreement for CCS and the first to support dynamic food procurement principles at scale for public sector buyers, development has taken over 3 years to allow for extensive engagement to help shape this procurement approach – including one-to-one supplier sessions, newsletters, external stakeholder forums and customer surveys with food suppliers and industry bodies across the UK. 

The agreement aims to simplify food procurement through collective purchasing and shorter supply chains, while at the same time focusing on achieving economic, environmental, and social value. It is open to all public sector customers and covers all food and drink categories. 

As part of this, customers will also use a single online portal provided by supplier Entegra, with a simple ordering and invoicing process, and a single point of contact. Access to an extensive network of regional and national distributors will be opened up to them, and in time their buying choices will be supported with information on sustainable buying, carbon footprint reduction and higher welfare standards. By leveraging dynamic procurement methods, it aims to foster greater diversity throughout the food supply chain, and as it evolves, will deliver key innovations such as farm level sustainability change with efficient supply of this sustainably produced food.

It will also open up public sector food and drink contracts to food producers, including small businesses. Public sector procurement teams will have the option to add their preferred small business suppliers to the agreement and those originating from their closest geographical area.

The initial contract value is estimated to attract £100 million worth of spend over the 4 year contract period, which is a small proportion of the annual £2.1 billion public sector food spend. Public sector buyers are free to choose to buy from other buying organisations who provide food products through frameworks.

Sam Ulyatt, CEO of Crown Commercial Service said:

We’re delighted to be launching this agreement to introduce better quality, seasonal and nutritious food into the public sector, for example schools and hospitals. 

“This agreement will enable increased opportunities for SMEs across the UK to support the government’s ambitions.

The Buying Better Food and Drink agreement will run for an initial 2 years, with an optional 1+1 extension, to allow CCS to pilot this approach. The agreement will continue to be compliant under Public Contract Regulations 2015 following the introduction of the Procurement Regulations 2024. 

Benefits of the agreement:

• greater transparency for the public sector, detailing the who, where and how of food production
• greater opportunities for SME producers. CCS will monitor and target increased SME supplier participation during the lifetime of the agreement
• regular price benchmarking to encourage competitiveness, whilst supporting fairness for national and regional producers and helping to kickstart economic growth at regional/local level
• supports sustainable production processes such as soil fertility and biodiversity protection 
• bespoke SME supplier onboarding to the Entegra supply chain to deliver optimised buyer procurement needs

Find out more:

To find out more about the Buying Better Food and Drink Agreement visit the agreement webpage or contact the CCS Service Desk at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk / 0345 410 2222.

Don’t forget, you can find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.