During his welcome speech, White said: “Good morning everyone and thank you so much for coming to this our inaugural Public Sector Catering Forum. For those of you that don’t know me, I am Matt White and for this morning at least, I am the chair of the Public Sector Catering Alliance.
“As I look around this room I can see we have the big hitters from across our industry who really do influence, set policy and set strategic direction. Thank you all for taking the time out of your hectic schedules to be here and to sharing your collective knowledge and skills.
“You are the big decision makers in public food and our intention was to bring you all together to make introductions, facilitate discussions, oil the cogs of invention and to help set the direction & consensus on how to build on our collaborations and to champion and spearhead public food. We need to work together to feed a healthy nation which is the working title of our gathering here today.
“Our still relatively new Government have inherited huge issues which they alone cannot solve. There are clearly going to be tough years ahead with unpalatable decisions and actions implemented.
“We are told we need to repair the foundations and build our country back up. This is a collective mission and it is our responsibility to help find solutions, with clear actions that can help protect the services and products you and your teams deliver at the coal face.
“We need to influence key decision takers and law makers to ensure the expert voice is heard. We cannot simply complain and expect others to right the wrongs of the past, this is our moment and we need to lean in and demonstrate with clarity the benefits of the public food we put on public plates.
“Budgets are tighter than ever, especially following the Chancellors recent budget which will place even more financial pressures on as all. We also face issues such as recruitment and retention, provisions and utility costs and lots more operating constraints and obstacles that still reign strong. We have to be in the driving seat and utilise our creativity now more than ever to ensure we protect funding streams, our customers, staff and businesses!
“The work you all influence is critical to the health and wellbeing of our four nations. The meals we collectively deliver literally change people’s lives. We nourish the body, mind and soul of our nations and we bring comfort through service with compassion and in some cases with almost vocational determination to people in extraordinary as well as ordinary daily environments.
“We are a people sector and we need great people to ensure all we do is current, meets customer needs and the requirements placed upon us through legislation and contractual requirements.
“You are those amazing people and I urge you to use this forum to grow your networks, meet new collaborators, test out ideas and maximise the return on your investment in time and effort in attending. Together we can work to ensure we do indeed feed a healthy nation!
“I wish you all a superb event and look forward to talking to you in person during the breaks, exhibition times and of course at dinner this evening. Have a great day everyone and enjoy being amongst the truly great and mighty of our industry!”