We were thrilled to hear earlier this month that Devon has won a prestigious Sustainable Food Places Bronze award. This recognises the work of the Devon Food Partnership to promote healthy, sustainable and local food and to tackle some of today’s greatest social challenges; from household food insecurity and diet-related ill-health, to the pressures faced by family farms and independent food retailers.
The Sustainable Food Places Award is 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’. This is a recognition of the excellent work of the food partnership and of stakeholders across the area.
Devon Community Foundation has been centrally involved in the development of The Devon Food Partnership since its establishment in 2021, following the groundswell of local food activity during the pandemic. A truly cross-sectoral initiative, the Partnership includes academics, council officers, farmers’ representatives and voluntary sector practitioners, with administrative support from within Devon County Council. Nicola Frost, Head of Impact, Insight and Learning at the Foundation, chairs the Partnership’s new food insecurity working group.
In their feedback, the awards panel noted that the partnership work with Devon Community Foundation and the university provides a strong evidence base that includes local voice and experience, and that work to build relationships with other partnerships locally was particularly interesting.
“Devon 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, the Devon Food Partnership has helped to set a 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 Devon’s food culture and food system for the better.”
Read more about our work in food insecurity here.
