Local Food Partnerships
Local Food Partnerships in Wales
Local food partnerships bring together partners from a range of different sectors to help tackle social, economic and environmental issues, working together to ensure good food for all.
Food Partnerships work across-sectors bringing key people together to develop a vision for a more sustainable food future that’s tailored to its local area and responds to its specific needs.
They were pioneered in the UK by Sustainable Food Places, a UK-wide network that makes healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of where people live.
In Wales, there are 22 food partnerships, one in each local authority area, promoting innovation and best practice in healthy and sustainable food systems. Ten of these food partnerships are also Sustainable Food Places members. They are Food Cardiff, Food Vale, the Monmouthshire Food Partnership, RCT Food, Blaenau Gwent Food Partnership, Bwyd Powys Food, Bwyd Sir Gâr Food in Carmarthenshire, the Torfaen Food Partnership, Bwyd Abertawe in Swansea and the Bridgend Food Partnership. Wales is proud to have bronze, silver, and gold award-winning food partnerships – a testament to the hard work and collaboration happening across the country.
Food Sense Wales supports and nurtures the food partnerships; bringing them together, providing leadership and opportunities for collaboration.
Partnerships include public bodies such as Health Boards and Local Authorities as well as citizens, voluntary organisations, charities, food businesses, retailers, wholesalers, growers and farmers.
Local Food partnerships in Wales are led by a coordinator and receive financial support from Welsh Government.
Food Partnerships take a systems approach meaning they address a range of different yet connected food issues and work together to achieve change. Issues like household food insecurity – ensuring access to healthy, nutritious food for all – and building resilient local supply chains that reduce Carbon emissions, promote nature and support the local economy.
But local food partnerships do much more than figure out solutions to complex problems. They drive change; inspire ideas; enable innovation and empower communities to engage with good food-related activities and initiatives.
Food Sense Wales believes that investment in connected and resilient local food systems builds and retains wealth in Wales – economically, environmentally and socially – and helps to promote collaboration and inclusivity. Local food Partnerships are central to this vision and can help make real, positive change to communities across the whole of Wales
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can read our recently published Local Food Partnership Status Report here.
You can also read some case studies here or watch the explainer video below.
