Food producers from Bradford are being urged to safeguard the future health of the city's population by getting involved in school dinners.

Bradford Council's in-house caterer Education Contract Services wants more local farmers and producers to supply fresh food for its school meals in the district.

ECS spends £4.6 million on food for the 45,000 meals it provides every day to schools in Bradford.

It currently gets 15 per cent of its ingredients from local producers but wants more Bradford businesses to get involved.

It threw open the doors of its headquarters in Beswick Close, Laisterdyke, yesterday to allow farmers, food producers and wholesalers to find out more about how to bid for contracts. School dinners has been a big political issue after television chef Jamie Oliver marched on Downing Street to hand over a petition demanding that the standard is improved.

ECS business development manager Roger Sheard said there was now a big demand for locally-produced fresh food from teachers, governors and parents.

He said: "After the food scares from the Food Standards Agency, BSE and Foot and Mouth it is most important that we can trace back where our products have been grown and produced. By using more local produce we can have an audited trail of where our food comes from."

He said using local producers would also mean more fresh food on the menu at Bradford schools and would cut down on waste.

"Fresh produce improves the quality textures, tastes and experience so it makes sense for us to use locally grown produce", he said.

Public health nutritionist Ann Hobbiss said local producers could play a vital role in improving the future health of the city by ensuring children start life with a healthy diet.

Dr Hobbiss, who works for Bradford University and is the chairman of the Bradford Food Network, said: "Being involved in school dinners is much more important than just what a child has to eat on a particular day, it is has a profound impact on their health and therefore the future health of the people of Bradford."

ECS began a drive to get more local suppliers involved in school dinners in May, last year.

And now the firm is looking to tender out contracts for ingredients such as halal meat, bread, fresh milk, eggs, cheese and yoghurt.

Businesses were told yesterday that ECS spent £156,000 annually on halal meat and £140,000 on bread and morning products which could be awarded to local producers.