Uncertainty surrounds the government’s School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme as the latest round of tenders for supply contracts has been dramatically cancelled.
Gareth Jones, who runs the scheme for NHS Supply Chain, told FPJ: “We had to cancel the last round of tenders due to some issues. We are due to re-issue the tender later on this week.”
After this week's FPJ went to press, Jones confirmed that supply at this point is not disrupted. "We have extended the contracts until Christmas by which time we hope to have redone the tenders," he said.
Rumours have been flying around the industry for several weeks and even the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), which was instrumental in getting the scheme off the ground and securing its funding at inception, was this week still in the dark as to the reasons behind the delays.
FPJ understands that at least one company, unhappy with either the outcome of the latest round of tenders or the process itself, was pursuing legal action before the announcement that tenders were to be re-issued this week. Independent complaints have been made in previous years about the handling of the tendering process.
The scheme has been widely praised in the past for bringing one piece of fruit or a vegetable a day to schoolchildren aged four to seven in England.
FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney said: “It is an important scheme as it delivers healthy eating benefits for the nation, but it is also important that the process used to select suppliers is carried out in a manner that is open and robust, and clearly understood by the industry as a whole.”
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