Farming Delivers for the Olympics
British farming will be at the forefront of the largest ever peace-time catering operation in the world as 14 million meals are set to be served during the Olympic Games, say the NFU.
Hungry athletes and spectators will have the choice of over 150 different dishes celebrating the best of British during the Games. In line with London 2012’s sustainability commitments, all fruit, vegetables and cereals are British and seasonal where available, and traceable back to the farm gate through the Red Tractor scheme which is the food benchmark standard for the Olympics.
The UK farming industry will supply 232 tonnes of potatoes, 31 tonnes of poultry, 19 tonnes of eggs and 75,000 litres of milk for the Olympic Village alone during the sporting spectacle, not including the food provided for visitors and public attending events, underlining the importance of the NFU’s campaign Farming Delivers for Britain.
NFU head of food chain Lee Woodger said: “The Olympic Games provides the UK farming industry with a fantastic platform to really shout about what it does for Britain, and has made all the hard work the NFU put into ensuring the Olympic food vision got off the ground worthwhile.
“Serving 14 million meals over a three week period is a huge challenge, but providing healthy, tasty nutritious food for the country is what the British farming industry does best and delivers economic benefits to communities up and down the country.
“We want people to recognise just what the farming industry does for each and every consumer in the UK, who can get almost every ingredient they need from British farms.
“When you choose British, you are helping farming to improve the economy, encourage production and much more. Our campaign slogan is ‘Make it British, Make it Local, Make it Happen’ and if everyone follows those simple guidelines, then farming really will continue to deliver for Britain.”
