Can 'local public food procurement' extend to healthcare? - A policy content analysis

Local public food procurement (LPFP) by hospital foodservice offers governments an opportunity to support local food systems and capitalise on multiple co-benefits. Policy is a potential lever to shift procurement practices. This study aims to identify and analyse food policy documents that promote LPFP, to explore how LPFP is represented, and the extent to which it extends to healthcare.

Policies from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Global Database on the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Action (GIFNA) were screened for eligibility, descriptively characterised and qualitatively analysed.

Forty-two policies relating to LPFP were identified; almost 70% targeted schools, half were from Europe and a third were from Latin America and The Caribbean. Five overarching themes described how LPFP was represented in policies: LPFP benefits nutrition and local food culture, social economic development, and environmental sustainability; a multiplier effect where LPFP offers greater value than its initial investment; and variable policy commitment to LPFP. The representation of LPFP was influenced by regional, cultural and context specific factors. Ten policies (24%) included reference to hospitals, mostly described as one of many public institutions that could potentially support LPFP. Just one policy was specific for hospitals which represented LPFP for its environmental benefit.

Overall, the extent to which local food procurement was recommended in healthcare was minimal. Findings suggest, that to establish LPFP in healthcare and realise its multiplier effect, it should to be prioritised under a strategic national strategy, to better enable a coordinated collaboration across the food supply.