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Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Freelance Economist interested in Sustainable Food Systems

Welsh Veg In Schools
Remote working

Posted: 18 Mar 2026

Deadline: 27 Mar 2026

Compensation: £7,500 - fixed amount for one-off piece of research

Paid Remote working

Job description

Seeking an economist with a passion for sustainable food systems 🥦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Welsh Veg In Schools, on behalf of Bridging the Gap, is looking for an external economist to work with our research team for a short and sharp "deep dive" into the Economics of Narrowing the Gap.

The Challenge

Our Welsh Veg in Schools project aims to get more organic, locally produced Welsh vegetables into primary school meals. Currently, these products are approximately 33% more expensive than conventional supplies. We need an expert to help us understand this gap and identify pathways to make climate and nature friendly food more accessible.

Key Research Areas

• Pricing & Variability: Analysing wholesale cost gaps and the potential impact of climate change on future competitiveness.
• Fairness & Profitability: Exploring value distribution across the supply chain to support sustainable horticultural development in Wales.
• Risk & Investment: Investigating financial mechanisms to reduce producer risk and identifying necessary infrastructure investments (e.g. processing, storage, logistics).

Project Details

• Budget: £7,500
• Estimated Time: 15-20 days
• Timeline: Recruitment starts in March 2026; research conducted April/May; draft report due mid-May.
• Requirements: Strong background in applied economics/business research and the ability to communicate findings to non-academic audiences. Familiarity with the organic or fruit and vegetable sectors is highly preferred.

Application information

For more detailed research brief see here

Please submit a brief proposal (max 2 pages) outlining your experience, research approach, and budget summary to amberfood@icloud.com or foodsensewales@wales.nhs.uk.

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