Plymouth has won the prestigious Sustainable Food Places Silver Award.
This recognises the work of Food Plymouth – the city’s local sustainable food partnership – in promoting healthy, sustainable and local food and tackling some of today’s greatest social and environmental challenges: from food poverty and diet-related ill-health, to the disappearance of family farms and the loss of independent food retailers to the role of the food system and food businesses in countering the climate and nature emergencies. The Sustainable Food Places (SFP) Awards are a national, evidence-based recognition and celebration of places taking a joined-up, holistic approach to sustainable and healthy food. Awardees have demonstrated activity and impact across their food system by the food partnership and their stakeholders to create a local Good Food Movement.
The award is recognition of the excellent work of the local food partnership and of stakeholders across the area.
A SFP Silver Award demonstrates that a particularly diverse, robust, and sustainable cross-sector food partnership is in place with strategic long-term plans. These include a range of local authority policies and food access initiatives as well as effective promotion and access to sustainable and healthy food for all. Also evidenced is a diverse and connected local good food movement.
Sustainable food enterprises have a significant role in the local economy, backed by local catering and procurement practices and systemic responses are addressing the negative climate and nature impacts of the local food system.
Leon Ballin, SFP programme Manager, said:
“Plymouth has shown just what can be achieved when creative and committed people work together to make healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of where they live. While there is still much to do and many challenges to overcome, Food Plymouth has helped to set a high benchmark for other members of the UK Sustainable Food Places Network to follow. We look forward to working with them over the months and years ahead to continue to transform Plymouth’s food culture and food system for the better.”
Confirming the Silver Award for the city, the national SFP team praised the ‘strong relationships across Plymouth and a regional leadership role’ with Food Plymouth actively supporting and connecting with recently established county level food partnerships in Devon and Cornwall. A particularly strong track record on the Healthy Food for All strand of work was also highlighted.
Ian Smith, from Food Plymouth CIC, commented:
“The Sustainable Food Places Silver Award is a very welcome recognition of the sustained efforts and collective impact of Food Plymouth’s cross-sector and inter-disciplinary partnership and network, and Food Plymouth CIC which provides its infrastructure support.
“The drive now shifts to achieving the highly demanding SFP Gold Award standard. This requires significant expansion and up-scaling. Our supportive and collaborative culture featuring leadership at every level means that Plymouth is well-positioned to accomplish this.”
Tami Skelton from Food Plymouth CIC added:
“I am proud to be living and working in a city which has collaborated widely and come together to demonstrate a huge passion for making Plymouth a sustainable food place, where good food is considered as a mechanism for improving overall health and wellbeing. It’s important to remember that the city has only achieved the Sustainable Food Places Silver Award because of the dedication and consistent activity of the Food Plymouth partners and members, no matter whether a large organisation or an individual – all equally important and had a role. But, there’s no time to sit back and relax – there’s so much more we can do.”
Key to the success of the food partnership’s work is a strong working relationship with Plymouth City Council. The Food Plymouth partnership and network members and their Community Interest Company infrastructure organisation have been working closely with the council in recent years. These collaborative partnership endeavours span issues as diverse as ensuring food support for households during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, development of community growing spaces and supporting new initiatives to grow Plymouth’s Good Food Economy.
