The business development managers (BDMs) appointed by the London Development Agency (LDA) to increase the amount of local and sustainable fruit and vegetables going into the capital’s wholesale markets are lobbying against the possibility that their project may be cut short in December.
Tim Williams at New Spitalfields Market, Peter Clarke at Western Internation, Zeenat Anjari at New Covent Garden Market and Mat Castle at Borough Market have been working for the last 18 months with their assigned wholesale markets to connect tenants with new suppliers.
Williams told freshinfo: “LDA funding ceases in December and the Greater London Authority (GLA) has to decide whether it should continue. In the interim period of a year and a half we have achieved so much, but there is much more to do, so all of the BDMs have come together to compile a report to send to the London Food Board.
“We have achieved a lot more awareness of the need to procure British food, highlighted some of the missing links and helped more product get into the market. But there is a lot more we can do from there - a lot of it to do with public procurement and getting the sector to work with the markets.”
Williams maintains that nearly 100 per cent of the growers he has introduced to the market have gone on to establish good trading relationships with wholesalers.
The work on London’s supply chain, funded as part of the London Food Strategy’s Food Infrastructure Project, has helped more than 250 food businesses significantly increase their turnover and contribute to a healthier and more sustainable food system for London. This has resulted in each of these businesses increasing their volume of trade by an estimated £30,000 a year on average, with some businesses increasing annual turnover by up to £750,000.
“The way the project was sold to me was that it had a good chance of continuing for three years,” said Williams. “It would be a complete waste of time and money to give up on it now, when we have built up a momentum and could do further good things for the wholesale industry.”
The Review of BDMs’ Achievements report includes case studies and testimonies.
