The 100-plus specially-invited attendees are leaders in the public sector catering industry who are crucial to the Alliance’s collective mission: ‘Working Together to Feed a Healthy Nation’. They include the heads of national catering organisations, senior leaders of the major contract catering companies, major sustainability groups, and charities.
The Forum aims to open up debate on industry issues by offering a packed, day-long chance to learn from inspiring presentations, engage with interactive debates and mix with fellow stakeholders.
The aim is to bring together the industry at a single venue, to discuss face-to-face issues of common concern, such as food-price inflation, recruitment and retention, training, sustainability, food and plastic waste and the health impacts of growing obesity in the UK.
An exhibition of 42 suppliers showcasing a variety of food, drink and equipment for public sector caterers will run alongside the Forum. The Forum programme includes:
9.30am: Exhibition opens
11.00am: Forum opens – Matt White MBE
11.15am: Public Sector Catering Procurement in Schools, Hospitals and Prisons. Professor Kevin Morgan Professor Morgan.
12.00pm: AI - preparing for the intelligent revolution. Peter Russell.
12.30pm: Open Mic sessions. Delegates are invited to come to stage and update colleagues on their work, the issues they face, their objectives and ambitions. The session will be split into five quickfire slots that will involve a short five minute presentation and a ten minute discussion and Q&A.
- 12.30pm – Bethan Cowell – NFU strategy and objectives in Public Sector Catering
- 12.45pm – Dr Sumi Baruah & Vince Kelly – Culinary Medicine Update
- 1.00pm – Jill Whittaker OBE – Accessing the Apprenticeship Levy to drive skills and training
1.15pm: Lunch and exhibition viewing
3.00pm: The Importance of School Meals to World Health. Professor Donald Bundy, Director of the Research Consortium for School Health & Nutrition, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
3.45pm - Open Mic sessions.
- 3.45pm – Nadim & Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE – Update on the work of Natasha Allergy Research Foundation
- 4.00pm – Karen Beech – Crown Commercial Services – Why the Buying Better Food and Drink service was launched
4.15pm: Advances in packaging and plastics replacements. Pierre-Yves Paslier co-founder of Notpla
5pm: Close, sum up and actions
7pm: Drinks reception
7.30pm: Dinner to include the ‘Chairs Awards’ and the official hand over of the Alliance Chairship
The principal associations driving the Alliance are: LACA, the school food people, the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA), the National Association of Care Catering (NACC), The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO), ASSIST FM (local authority providers in Scotland), and the Professional Association for Catering Education (PACE).