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CLA members in the South West are to throw down the gauntlet to public sector purchasers and challenge them to take a new look at the origins of the food they buy.

The move is part of the CLA's Just Ask' campaign which has been gathering momentum throughout the food supply and catering sectors since it was launched with the Prime Minister in Downing Street just over a year ago.

Since then, the CLA Just Ask campaign has challenged individuals to question the retail and catering sectors about the origins of their food. Now it is turning the spotlight on the public sector and raising questions as to whether more emphasis should be given to purchasing locally or home produced food within the vast organisations that make up the public sector.

CLA South West Director John Mortimer, said: "We have carried out research into just how much locally produced food gets into the public sector supply chain and we will be publishing these facts at our Just Ask breakfast in Cornwall next week. But we also want to look at the barriers - such as whether we are able to deliver continuity of supply and consistency of quality - and at ways of enabling relatively small producers to access that market."

The CLA, the rural economy experts, say that there has always been a presumption within the public sector that locally produced food is more expensive than the mass produced, frequently imported, food used in many catering outlets such as schools, prisons and the armed services.

"We want to challenge that perception and we also want to raise the questions of whether the environmental and ethical aspects of food production should feature in any cost analysis. Despite Just Ask being such a simple idea, it really sets some serious challenges and encourages everybody to think seriously about where their food comes from, "said Mr Mortimer.

The CLA's Just Ask breakfast has pulled together speakers from a variety of fields including individual suppliers, public sector purchasers and regional policy experts which, says Mr Mortimer, will provide the launch pad for a debate which hopes will develop throughout the summer.

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