Organic food on hospital menu

Eostre Organics are supplying the hospital's fruit and vegetables

Locally grown, organic produce is now on the menu at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, thanks to a scheme to help small food producers compete in the public sector.

A group of local producers has won a contract to supply organic food to staff and visitors to the Chicory's Restaurant at the hospital.

Eostre Organics, which was established in April this year, is based near Attleborough and is growing organic fruit and vegetables for the restaurant.

Norfolk farms in Bintree and Ringstead are providing the hospital with pork and beef, while farms in Tuddenham and Market Weston in Norfolk are supplying poultry and dairy products.

Simon Hollingdale, retail catering manager at the hospital said that customers had been asking for an organic alternative.

"Customer demand has led us to start trying to source a good, reliable supplier.

It has long been our policy to source food from as locally as possible, so Eostre Organics has been able to answer all of our needs."

This is a really exciting project, completely in tune with Defra's aims of helping consumers get closer to the food producers Sadie Burnell, Defra advisor

The project has been supported with a Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) grant of nearly £175,000 from their Rural Enterprise Scheme.

Sadie Burnell, an adviser with Defra said: "The Rural Enterprise Scheme provides assistance for projects that help to develop more sustainable, diversified and enterprising rural economies and communities.

"This is a really exciting project, completely in tune with Defra's aims of helping consumers get closer to the food producers."

Earlier this month the hospital banned the controversial Atkins diet from its menu over fears that it was too unhealthy.

There had been growing requests from patients for the low-carbohydrate diet.