Good Food for All Londoners is a new report from Sustain UK, shining a light on each council's approach to food partnership, household food insecurity and the wider food economy. It is made up of survey data from London councils, as well as external data, and scores councils on a number of categories.
Explore the digital interactive report, which includes local authority league tables and good food maps - which outline actions each council can take to tackle food poverty - or download a PDF version using the button to the left.
The report recommends that councils prioritise joined-up work on food and engage stakeholders including Voluntary and Community Sector organisations (VCS). Councils are encouraged to collaborate across departments and to integrate food into key workstreams. This enables innovation, helps to generate ideas, and ensures the best use of assets for supporting work led by partners or external organisations.
Between surveys, councils can use the Good Food for all Londoners framework to support action on food issues. It can be used as a way to set internal targets on where to do better and to champion cross- departmental work on priority areas.
Taking action on food poverty beyond the food bank:
- Focus on strengthening the cash-first offer and income maximisation in the borough – this is key to reducing poverty overall
- Support VCS to transition from food aid to food trade models, and fund good wraparound support
- Sign up to the Say Yes! to School Meals for All campaign, committing to some of the actions outlined
- Build on commitments made to resourcing Healthy Start food vouchers by creating a target and action plan to increase uptake
- Revisit meals on wheels provision and continue to strengthen referral pathways
- Involve citizens and experts by experience of poverty in decision-making and policy development
Supporting good food for London:
- Champion food within health work and look for new opportunities to integrate food into programmes including Healthy Highstreets and School Superzones and implement a healthier food advertising policy
- Establish a cross-departmental working group on good food, focusing on the development of an overarching good food policy
- Ensure there is support for small businesses to help them become champions of healthy and climate and nature friendly food. Weave this priority into assets including commissions, funding opportunities and projects
- Explore and strengthen pathways set out to enable residents to access land for food growing, proactively seek land to increase access, and ensure this is available to diverse communities
- Join the food procurement working group to ensure that the food bought and sold across council services is healthy, climate- friendly, and never wasted
29 March 2023