Both were really fantastic, and I learned a great deal from the speakers, the workshops and the suppliers I met.
Attending conferences and events is a welcome reminder to me about the social power of food: how food connects us in social ways, as well as being just a source of fuel and nutrition.
Food enables our students to connect with each other, be that through social dining experiences, or for some through their own part time work in cafes, bars and restaurants, or when they go home at the end of term to spend time with families and friends.
The experience our students have at university and at school is absolutely shaping future generations, and their relationship with food is something we are privileged to support and, to a degree, influence.
Attending conferences really gives me an insight into how the different parts of public food tick. And, as I've mentioned before in a previous blog, I'm always struck by what differentiates the various parts of our sector, but also how we share common goals and, at times, common challenges.
We've seen over the past week further news coverage of increasing food inflation (yes, again), and hot on the heels of the publication of Scotland's Good Food Nation Plan, we had welcome news from England recently, with the publication of the policy paper, A UK Government Food Strategy for England, Considering the Wider UK Food System.
It is encouraging to see clear recognition that all parts of the UK food system need to align to create the change we need for everyone. The strategy clearly recognises the challenges we face around food security, climate change and that the system is in constant flux.
The vision for an affordable, sustainable, and resilient 21st Century UK Food System is certainly positive, and both the priority outcomes and the clear goals are encouraging.
We, as public sector caterers, don't feature in the high level detail much at this stage, though I do hope that the Strategy Group and Defra take us up on the offer to help, support and shape this as we all move forward.
And I hope we have the latitude to consider how we realistically deliver these clear goals through our own work across the public catering arena.
