Catering Scotland

Four Scottish companies are among 10 major UK caterers who have committed to an innovative new initiative aimed at increasing vegetable consumption within their businesses.

Albacore, CEC Catering, BaxterStorey at City of Glasgow College and Dynamic Earth Enterprises have joined Peas Please to deliver additional portions of vegetables to customers.

The four companies are unveiling their commitment today alongside Sodexo, BaxterStorey and Interserve who made pledges in 2017.

Collectively feeding over 100,000 people each year, the Scottish outfits are all committing to substantially increasing the quantity of veg they serve.

Coordinated by partner organisations in each of the four UK nations, Peas Please aims to bring together companies and brands to make it easier for people to eat vegetables. Businesses are invited to make commitments for how they will help us all eat more veg.

With an estimated three in four adults failing to consume the recommended minimum five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, strong inequalities between different levels of income have become apparent. Those on lowest incomes eat a whole portion less than those on the highest and yet, for every one of your five-a-day eaten, the risk of premature death decreases by five per cent.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick MSP said: ‘The Peas Please project has made excellent progress in its first year and it’s great to see major caterers pledging to provide more vegetables in their meals.’

Of the four most recent Scottish signatories, BaxterStorey Scotland at City of Glasgow College have pledged to serve 20% more vegetables to the 5,000 students they cater for on a daily basis. They will also try to inspire students to eat more vegetables through pop-up stands, targeted events and so-called ‘veg days’ held throughout the academic year.

The company’s head of sustainable business, Mike Hanson, said: ‘Not only are we excited to be creating innovative and nutritious dishes which make vegetables the star of the plate, we are proud to play a part in leading the change towards a more sustainable hospitality industry.’

Willie McCurrach OBE, head of curriculum for food at City of Glasgow College, added: ‘We run a bistro which serves as both a teaching space and a work environment. Although we already offer healthy choices, our students are still reluctant to try fresh vegetables and so we hope to make changes for the better. We are also growing our own vegetables so that the students can harvest, cook, and eat them to understand the quality and freshness.’

Other new pledgers in Scotland include the Chefs@School programme, who pledged to reach 6,000 children with new veg-focused educational resources, along with football centre chain GOALS.

London City Hall plays host to the Vegetable Summit 2018 today, 8th October.

Pete Ritchie, executive director of Nourish Scotland, said: ‘It is fantastic to see Scottish catering businesses join a UK-wide effort to increase vegetable consumption. We all know we should be eating more vegetables, but it’s hard to make the healthy choices. The companies here today are leading the way by making it easier for people to eat their five-a-day.’