GOVERNMENT bodies like hospitals, prisons and armed services camps spend an astonishing £1.8 billion on food every year - but only £36 million of that goes on locally grown produce, says the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).

Buying locally can be the best way to ensure the provenance and traceability of our families' food

Douglas Chalmers - CLA

Whilst food-conscious private consumers and thousands of hotels and restaurants have joined a campaign to sell local food, civil servants continue to pour hundreds of millions into mass produced food, much of it from abroad.

A year ago, the CLA launched its "Just Ask" campaign to persuade consumers to enquire where any food they wanted to buy came from - and as a result, local produce has been seeing something of a boom.

But Government agencies spend just 2% on local food - "an appalling static" said CLA president Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, noting the first anniversary of the campaign.

Douglas Chalmers, Director CLA North added: "2008 is the 'Year of Food and Farming' and the efforts of TV Celebrity Chefs are shocking the consumer into thinking about the food they buy.

"Buying locally can be the best way to ensure the provenance and traceability of our families' food. In addition, it can be good value as it has travelled less and gone through fewer hands, and because it is seasonal it encourages variety in our diets, allowing our children to enjoy a wide range of fresh produce."