Amy Stoner

I grew up in rural Oxfordshire, but now live in Rutland with my partner Dan. We have a small sheep flock and an allotment, which keeps us busy outside of work.

I have always been passionate about food - Setting up my own business running childrens’ cookery parties, participating in young farmers cookery competitions, and working in my local village pub. This led me to study Food Nutrition and Wellbeing (BSc) and Food Industry Management (MSc) at Harper Adams University.

After graduating from university in 2019 I went to Australia. I worked on an arable farm for seeding & harvest, a cattle station and a winery in Western Australia, my first farming experience which I loved.

I returned to the UK in 2021 after being offered a job with Samworth Brothers, a leading UK food manufacturing company. I now work in raw materials in one of our Food To Go businesses, where we make sandwiches & salads for multiple retailers. Fresh produce (lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers in particular) are integral raw materials in our business. This has led me to want to take a forward thinking approach, investigating how we can ensure resilient fresh produce supply chains in the UK.

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UK Food Security: A forward-thinking approach to ensure resilient fresh produce supply chains

Study Overview

Food security is not always visible to the public, until something goes wrong. UK Fresh produce supply chains are facing an increasing number of challenges such as climate change, political, fraudulent and food safety issues, which impacts UK produce security. These challenges are becoming more frequent and impactful. I therefore want to be proactive and understand why and what the solutions are.

I want to investigate the following:

• What are the current and future challenges facing UK fresh produce supply chains

• Attitudes from key stakeholders (growers, suppliers, food manufacturers, retailers and policy makers) surrounding fresh produce security in the UK and in other countries

• Solutions and opportunities to enhance the resilience of fresh produce supply chains in the UK

I want to make sure the industry I’m passionate about has a resilient and stable future, ensuring UK fresh produce security.

A big thank you to The Food Chain Scholarship for the sponsorship!