Create a food partnership

Glasgow City Food Plan
Sadly, many people in this country face food poverty and insecurity, made worse by the current cost-of-living crisis. The problem is often compounded by limited local access to healthy affordable food sources in the places where they live.

Making good food available to everyone is possible, with a joined-up approach involving everything from food procurement and catering to growing community food to eliminating food waste and addressing food poverty.
Across the UK around 50% of all food consumed is imported and local food spend only equates to around 1-2% of household food spend. However, locally-produced food bought from a local retailer can be worth almost ten times as much to the local economy as the same food from a far distant producer, purchased in a supermarket. In addition, growing the local food economy by sourcing more food locally can radically reduce food miles.

Community food projects, including allotments and community cooking and meals, contribute to this system, impacting positively on residents’ wellbeing and on the local environment. So too does redistributing surplus food to those who can use it, as it not only supports food sharing in communities but also reduces unwanted carbon emissions.

Look to the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership for this systemic thinking in action. Their aim is to bring together practitioners across the food network, along with interested individuals, to develop a flourishing food system in the city. Partners include organisations from all different sectors including the Glasgow Community Food Network, which represents over 200 community organisations around Glasgow.

By taking a more holistic approach, more people can benefit – irrespective of where they live, their income or personal circumstances – as well as those who work in the food industry. And a more resilient food system that is fairer and kinder to both people and the environment makes an important contribution towards the city’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Food partnerships are now a national movement, with organisations and community groups joining together to create healthier and more sustainable food systems locally. What kind of food partnership would make your town or city a better and healthier place to live in?
Glasgow Community Food Network Glasgow Community Food Network
Start something new…

Look at the Sustainable Food Places programme that can help you create a food partnership by bringing together policy makers, businesses and local community groups. It’s a proven, collaborative model that promotes healthy and sustainable food for all.

Inspired? Check out lots more initiatives about land use, food & agriculture.

… or join an existing community project:

Fancy spending a few hours each week helping in a community garden? These places are basically edible gardens which are either worked jointly by a group of volunteers to grow food or split into individual plots. They’re ideal for people without a garden or who wish to share the gardening tasks with others (a great way to learn gardening know-how). The Good To Grow scheme is the umbrella body promoting community gardens with over 45 gardens registered.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert in food or sustainability: a whole range of skills is needed to guarantee the success of projects like these and it’ll also be possible to learn as you go.

Other related community actions: Reduce food waste, Produce local food, Farm for change

What do we mean by community action?
23 community actions