During the initial phase of the Follow the Carrot project, Sustain commissioned Bremner & Co to produce a report that demonstrated the economic benefit that increased school meal expansion could bring to the UK food and farming sector, filling a research gap and extending the school food conversation beyond hunger and health to agriculture and economy.
We found that expanding free school meal (FSM) provision could unlock a host of benefits to the food and farming sector. Universal FSM would mean some 500 million more means annually, and a £600 million boost for UK farmers and growers each year, whilst improving children’s health and education. Our policy recommendations outlined the conditions required if these benefits were to be realised.
The school food policy landscape undergoing significant shifts, with the School Food Standards still under review and the Government’s FSM Universal Credit expansion rolling out from September. This made our findings was all the more timely. Sustain and the Ampney Brook Foundation commissioned Bremner & Co for a second phase of work to develop and deliver a strategy for the report’s launch and dissemination, ensuring the report reached key MPs and civil society stakeholders and informed emerging policy conversations on school food and public procurement.
Our Approach
By working at the intersection of evidence and advocacy, we ensured the research connected conversations across farming, supply chains and school food rather than remaining confined to one policy agenda. Its relevance across these agendas generated interest beyond a single department and opened engagement across government.
As a result, we had the opportunity to engage directly across government departments, including the Department for Education, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Strategy Team and the Government Buying Standards Team. The project achieved cross-government interest which allowed us to engage meaningfully in policy discussions.
Beyond government, we also brought the findings into parliamentary and sector forums including the School Food All Party Parliamentary Group, Groundswell, the Festival of Fresh and the LACA conference. Since the research was published, we’ve continued to engage these forums and government departments in ongoing conversations about the opportunity to connect school food with economic opportunities for British farmers, which this research is well-positioned to support.
Key Outcomes
The strategy we delivered enabled both proactive and reactive advocacy beyond the report’s publication. Officials in both DfE and Defra engaged with the findings, particularly the emphasis on joined-up thinking between school food policy and domestic supply chains. Months after launch, the work continues to be referenced in departmental discussions and webinars, indicating a strong alignment between our research findings and government’s policy priorities.
The report reached a wide range of audiences across policy, media, and food and farming through a coordinated social media campaign. Coverage included BBC’s Farming Today, the Food Foundation’s podcast, and Fresh Produce Journal. The public launch webinar attracted 148 live attendees from government, industry, and civil society, with a further 305 stakeholders receiving the recording. Findings were also presented at targeted events, including the Festival of Fresh and the School Food All-Party Parliamentary Group, enabling direct engagement with growers, caterers and MPs.
We wanted to understand how additional economic benefits that could be secured if expansion of school meals were coupled with increased sourcing from British farming. Myles and Rosie brilliantly took an initial ‘Follow the Carrot’ idea and turned it into a tangible piece of research, working to an ambitious timeline. Throughout the research process, from recruiting and managing an expert advisory group, identifying and analysing available data sets, and interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, Bremner & Co were extremely well organised, thoughtful and collaborative, resulting in an excellent report that landed extremely well with policymakers.
Barbara Crowther, Manager of Sustain’s Children’s Food Campaign
The timing of the Universal Credit FSM expansion announcement gave the project real momentum just as we published our findings. It meant government and wider system stakeholders were particularly receptive to the report, and enabled us to provide timely evidence to inform live policy discussions across DfE and Defra, helping to join up departments around FSM in ways that had not happened previously. It will be interesting to see how this momentum continues as the FSM expansion rolls out this September and the school food standards review is released for consultation.
Rosie Osborne, Principal Consultant, Bremner & Co
Our Services
This project demonstrates Bremner & Co’s ability to bring together diverse voices from across the food system and translate that insight into robust, policy relevant evidence. We worked with stakeholders spanning school food, farming, supply chains and advocacy to ensure the analysis reflected real world conditions and carried credibility across the sector.
Alongside this, we gathered and interpreted complex data, untangling large datasets, modelling multiple scenarios and integrating qualitative insight to produce clear, usable findings. This enabled clients to strengthen their advocacy positions and engage decision makers with confidence.
It also reflects our ability to operate in fast moving policy contexts. Working across food systems, public policy and supply chains, we adapted our analysis in real time following the free school meal Universal Credit expansion announcement. This ensured the evidence remained credible to policymakers while practical and actionable for campaigners, industry stakeholders and advocacy organisations.
Whether you need to untangle complex data or build a compelling case for change, we’re here to help. Contact us to explore how we can support your next project.
Read the Follow the Carrot report here.
