The accolade recognises work carried out to find solutions for some of the city’s greatest challenges; from food poverty and diet-related ill-health, to the loss of independent food producers.
Aiming to influence long-term change, Peterborough Food Partnership wants to develop a more sustainable, healthier, and inclusive food culture for the city that values local produce and independent businesses.
Leon Ballin, the Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager, said: “Peterborough Food Partnership 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, Peterborough Food Partnership has helped to set a benchmark for the other 100+ members of the UK Sustainable Food Places Network to follow. They should be very proud of the work that they have been doing to transform our collective food culture and food system for the better.”
Peterborough Food Partnership comprises a comprehensive network of representatives from over 100 organisations across the city: including the local farming community, food businesses, the public sector, Peterborough City Council, Peterborough Youth Council, NGOs, academic institutions, community food groups, environmental organisations, community gardens and local growers.
“This is about action, not just words,” explains Lauren Kendrick, Chair of the Peterborough Food Partnership. “Across the city and surrounding areas, we have an amazing array of residents, community groups, growers and other food businesses. Together, we want to create a better, more inclusive food culture for our city that values local produce and independent businesses, reduces waste, and supports local, seasonal and sustainable food production. By bringing together policymakers, businesses, and local communities, we can change policies, tackle food poverty, and promote healthy and sustainable food for all.”
To achieve the Sustainable Food Places Bronze award, the team had to evidence key areas of collective research and action. This included building public awareness and a local ‘good food’ movement, tackling diet related ill-health, increasing access to affordable healthy food, creating a vibrant and diverse sustainable food economy, revitalising local food supply chains, and tackling the climate and nature emergency.
The group’s vision is to work across the public, private and third sector to develop a sustainable, regenerative and fair food system for Peterborough. All members agreed that the strategy should be informed by a combination of research and lived experience. To enable this to happen, Peterborough Food Partnership has run a series of focus groups with more than 300 residents across the unitary area, followed by an online Citizens Survey.
From autumn 2023 through to March 2024, the group’s ‘Growing Together: Exploring and Celebrating Food Systems’ programme, comprising more than 60 free events, attracted around 16,000 attendees. Over the course of summer 2023, a variety of exhibitions, talks, workshops, discussions, performance, art creation, food shares, poetry, storytelling and more took place. It was a fantastic way to engage local residents and visitors to the city with interactions around food.
Lauren explains: “This is a fantastic achievement of the city. Peterborough Food Partnership has worked hard to bring together different partners and carry out Focus Groups and Citizen Surveys, while the ‘Growing Together’ programme brought together thousands of citizens across the city to discuss food systems, plans for the future, and celebrate what is happening in the city. We’re delighted to have this work recognised with an award - it’s a fantastic achievement for Peterborough.”
Do you still want to have your say on the future of food systems in the city? Food businesses are encouraged to fill in a survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9G5JMBH) and the team also wants to hear from local food producers (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DN7X3P5).
Plans are currently underway for the first Peterborough Food Summit. The event will bring together multiple stakeholders and citizens, share the report from the research carried out to-date, and provide an opportunity to collaboratively discuss next steps for the formation of the city’s first Food Strategy.
The Peterborough Food Partnership would love to hear more food-related feedback, examples, and case studies of great practice in the area. You can get involved by emailing: flourishpeterborough@gmail.com