The One Show, a popular BBC magazine programme, confirmed its support for the NFU's Fruit and Veg Pledge this week. The programme highlighted the importance of “repairing the fractured relationship between suppliers and the supermarkets.”
During a feature on ‘wonky veg,’ the programme questioned the effectiveness of retailer initiatives to sell out-of-spec produce and said that more needs to be done to support growers and build collaboration. Poor relationships, they said, can result in suppliers overproducing for fear of being delisted and thereby adding to food waste.
“We spoke to the programme makers before the show was aired,” explained Horticulture and Potatoes Adviser, Lee Abbey. “They were very interested in the NFU’s Fruit and Veg Pledge which challenges retailers to build more collaboration with their suppliers. It was great to see that they talked about the Pledge on the programme and reinforced our call for retailers to do better.”
British Growers Association Chief Executive, Jack Ward, was also featured on the programme and said that while whole crop utilisation was good, we had to make sure there was an “adequate return from everything that comes from UK farms, so there’s money to invest for the future.”
The One Show is in the top 20 most watched programmes in the UK, reaching millions of viewers each day.
