Argyll and Bute Food and Drink Strategy

Tender description

The Food and Drink Sector is critically important to the future of our local communities and to economic growth across Argyll and Bute, with businesses ranging from small, micro businesses to large international whisky producers. Businesses across the Council area produce some of the highest quality products available on the global market. The supply of good quality and affordable food and drink is also hugely important to the Council and our Community planning partners, with continued Government investment in the expansion of public sector food provision, particularly for vulnerable people and school food. Food security has been identified as a long term issue for communities across Scotland. The Council are looking to appoint an external consultant to develop and write a Food and Drink strategy, which will, review public sector procurement processes for food and drink, highlight the importance of Food Tourism and provide information that will us to develop our Food and Drink sector, accounting for all producers, identifying gaps in provision and outlining a way forward to help develop these. The ultimate aims of a food strategy for Argyll should be to: - Enhance food security for the most vulnerable - Ensure that public sector procurement is supportive of local food and drink producers - Ensure that local producers are able to gain benefit from a growing food tourism sector - Maximise the economic benefit of the food and drink sector to the local economy and help the industry to grow within and outside of Argyll ( need to be conscious of current and emerging trends in consumer and retailer behaviour) The timing of this is important as emerging from the COVID -19 pandemic and EU Exit affords us an opportunity to consider lessons learned for the food and drink sector, and will enable the strategy to capitalise on the ‘building back better’ recovery plans already underway. It will also ensure preparedness should the Good Food Nation guidance become statutory, at which point there will be a requirement for public sector bodies to have a formal food and drink policy in place.