County council awards fruit and vegetables contract

A contract to supply fruit and vegetables to Shropshire County Council’s schools and care homes in Shrewsbury and North Shropshire for the next two years has been awarded to Wem-based Chesters Choice - following a competitive tender process held by the council.

And the contract to supply schools and care homes throughout the rest of the county has been awarded to W H Grinnall from Stourport.

The tender process aimed to encourage more smaller local suppliers to bid. The contract was split into six areas for the first time to make it more attractive to them and suppliers were able to bid for as many areas as they wished.

Shropshire County Council is one of the first councils in the country to take this innovative approach – which was adopted for the first time when the contract to supply meat to the county’s schools and care homes was awarded earlier this year.

A total of six companies submitted tenders, and each had their pricing, fruit and vegetable quality, preparation facilities and other environmental factors assessed to ensure only the best-value and best-quality produce would be supplied to the county’s schools and care homes.

A panel of school catering supervisors also carried out a ‘blind tasting’ of each supplier’s produce.

Councillor John Everall, Shropshire County Council’s Cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said: “I would like to congratulate Chesters Choice and W H Grinnall on their success. We believe we are one of the first councils in the country to take the approach of making the supply of food more attractive to smaller suppliers – a process which has now worked very successfully for the award of the fruit and vegetables, and meat, contracts.

“Using small or local suppliers also helps with the provision of a more sustainable service, benefits the economy and the environment, and offers health benefits thanks to the increased use of fresher produce.”

The total value of the contract is around £200,000 a year for the whole county.

The tender process was a joint strategic approach by Shropshire County Council’s schools meals, sustainability and procurement teams.

Potential suppliers were also invited to a special induction event, which aimed to provide advice on the council’s tendering process, and take the fear factor out of what can often be perceived as a daunting process, which can only be completed by large supply contractors.

Ruth Hudson, Sustainability Assistant with Shropshire County Council, said: “We have found that talking with potential suppliers in advance of a tender, and letting them know what to expect and what they need to do, has attracted a greater interest from smaller or local suppliers who may not have thought about selling to the Council before."

Further information

(1) Chesters Choice will supply approximately 75 primary and secondary schools in Shrewsbury and North Shropshire.

(2) W H Grinnall will supply approximately 75 primary and secondary schools in Shropshire, and 33 schools in Worcestershire whose meals are prepared and supplied by Shire Services, Shropshire County Council’s school meals provider.

(3) Each contract is for an initial two years, with the possibility of it being extended for a further two years.

21 December 2007