Ten years on from the very first public sector ‘most influential’ (PSMI) Top 20, our 2018 list again reflects many of the major concerns of the sector.
It goes without saying that both obesity and malnutrition are still at the heart of many of the challenges that face public sector caterers.
Both conditions, and the poor health associated with them, place a heavy burden on the NHS and the sector has long contended that a more pro-active attitude to eating healthily in schools, hospitals and care homes could considerably cut the cost of future health and social care.
At the same time, newer issues have begun to assume a higher priority within the industry. These include holiday hunger among schoolchildren from poorer households outside of term time, allergen awareness, food price inflation, Brexit supply worries, squeezed budgets and sustainability.
So, our list this year includes people chosen because of their high-profile involvement in addressing these challenges.
Here is the full Cost Sector Catering, PSMI Top 20 list for 2018:
Michael Hales, LACA chair
Stewart McKenzie, HCA chair
Matthew White, TUCO chair
Keith Breasley, ASSIST chair
Paul O’Brien, APSE chief executive
Neel Radia, NACC chair
Sharon Hodgson, MP, shadow minister of public health, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food
Andy Kemp, Bidfood group sales and marketing director
Andy Jones, PS100 chair
Lindsay Graham, APPG on School Food and chair of its Holiday Hunger Task Group
Keith Warren, director CESA
Judith Gregory, LACA Wales region chair
Steve Munkley, Craft Guild of Chefs vice president
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation
Al Crisci – The Clink Charity
Kath Dalmeny, chief executive of Sustain
Mark Varney, director of network development for FareShare
Alexia Robinson, Love British Food and British Food Fortnight
Caroline Bovey, chair of the British Dietetic Association
Clive Dunlop, Defence Logistics