Congratulations to HRLC member Professor Annamaria LaChimia, who was awarded British Academy funding for a project on Sustainable Food Procurement for Schools

We are delighted to announce that Professor Annamaria LaChimia, HRLC member, was awarded funding from the British Academy for a project in collaboration with colleagues from the University La Sapienza di Rome. Professor Annamaria LaChimia is the Principal Investigator of this project which focuses on ‘Sustainable Food Procurement for Schools: Challenges and Opportunities in Italy, France and the UK’.

This project investigates how Sustainable Food Procurement Policies (SFPPs) can be used as a vehicle for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. In doing so, it focuses on how food purchased for primary schools by public authorities in Italy, France and the UK can become a means to realising the right to adequate food, protecting the environment, supporting the economy, and improving the conditions of workers in the food supply chain. While some procurement entities have made laudable attempts at implementing progressive SFPPs, significant differences still exist between and within countries, often with the most deprived communities and regions worst affected.

The project offers a unique opportunity to identify the main barriers to the correct implementation of SFPPs, as well as todefine how the benefits of SFPPs can be maximized at both the national and international levels. An 'equality atlas' will be created to understand where SFPPs are most impactful and where states should intensify their action.