A new focus on championing sustainable suppliers while supporting customers on their green journey.
In a bid to increase the green credentials of food producers and catering establishments across Scotland, one of the leading foodservice providers, Bidfood Scotland has launched details of its new sustainable initiative, “Source, Serve, Sustain”. To launch the initiative, Katie Sillars, Bidfood Scotland’s Supplier Development Manager, is taking on the gruelling challenge of cycling to sustainably deliver the new Bidfood Scotland brochures to a series of customers along a 120 mile route from Bidfood Scotland’s Edinburgh depot to their depot in Oban. With sustainability at the heart of their local sourcing initiative, Bidfood Scotland is seeking to provide customers and suppliers with the inspiration to switch to a greener way of working. This includes presenting locally-sourced Scottish produce, showcasing best practice amongst green-minded sector organisations, as well as working in collaboration with sustainability experts to support customers on their green journey. Championed by Katie Sillars, the initiative aims to work with more Scottish suppliers, and support existing suppliers that aim to be more sustainably across food production, packaging, and waste management systems. Supplying over 5,000 customers across Scotland, the brochure features over 100 Scottish suppliers and 600 products and includes wholesale meats, game, fish & seafood, dairy, bakery and drinks, sourced from the length and breadth of Scotland. It highlights products that have particularly strong sustainability credentials, as well as fully compostable packaging and eco-friendly initiatives. Katie explains the company’s new sustainable approach: “As Scotland has such a fantastic larder, being able to source local Scottish products, along with your main food and drink basket in one delivery, can be a key step to being more sustainable. “The focus will be on demonstrating to caterers how to communicate the quality and sustainability credentials of the food on offer to their customers. That way, they can benefit from a more informed consumer who is willing to pay that little bit extra for a quality product that is carefully sourced with absolute provenance.” The foodservice provider is expanding its partnerships to include collaborating with Green Tourism to offer customers credible, trustworthy and independent guidance on increasing its sustainability credentials. Andrea Nicholas, Managing Director, Green Tourism said: “I’m delighted for Green Tourism to partner with Bidfood Scotland. We aim to support businesses on their green journey, by using quality local produce and eco products like the ones sold through Bidfood’s Simply Scottish range. “We will be launching our free “green check” and a series of zero carbon workshops in the form of online webinars for Bidfood Scotland customers over the next few months.” Green Tourism will also run a series of workshops for Bidfood Scotland’s clients, designed to provide catering managers, cooks and chefs with pragmatic advice on how to switch to a more sustainable way of serving up great food that tastes great and doesn’t have a negative impact on the planet. Katie will start and end her cycle in a Green Tourism award holder accommodation. You can follow the cycle on Twitter using the hashtag #SourceServeSustain via @BidfoodUK. Along the route, Katie will deliver the brochure to Bidfood customers that are passionate about sourcing and serving local product and acting sustainably. The Bidfood Scotland brochure is available online on our catalogues page. A fully recyclable printed version can also be sourced by contacting your local Bidfood Scotland Business Manager. Bidfood Scotland is currently a partner with Visit Scotland’s ‘Taste our Best’ accreditation to promote Scottish produce on the menu.