Six UK cities (Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle and Stockport) will share one million pounds of funding to make healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of the city and use good food to address some of today’s most pressing social, economic and environmental problems including obesity, food poverty and climate change.

The UK’s first ‘Sustainable Food Cities’ programme aims to give everyone access to local, affordable and sustainable food. The funding will support the six cities to employ a dedicated officer to work with the local authority and partners such as schools, charities and restaurants to transform access to local, affordable and sustainable food for people across the city – setting it on its way to becoming a Sustainable Food City.

Tom Andrews, national programme manager of Sustainable Food Cities said; “Our vision is that Sustainable Food Cities will be places where every school, hospital, restaurant and workplace canteen serve only healthy and sustainable meals; where everyone has access to affordable fresh, seasonal, local and sustainably produced food no matter where they live; and where people of all ages and backgrounds have opportunities to learn about, grow and cook food.

“The programme is about using food to improve people’s health and wellbeing, creating new businesses and jobs and reducing our impact on the environment. Food is not only at the heart of some of today’s greatest challenges but is also a vital part of the solution. The six cities will become beacons of good practice to inspire other cities across the UK.”

The Sustainable Food Cities Network is an alliance of public, private and third sector organisations using food as a vehicle for driving positive changes.  More than eighty per cent of people now live in urban areas and people in towns and cities can have a huge impact on our food system. The Network helps people and places to share challenges, explore practical solutions and develop best practice in all aspects of sustainable food.

The Sustainable Food Cities programme led by the Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain and funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, will create six exemplar models of what a city can do to transform its food culture. More than 100 urban areas across the UK are expected to join the network by the end of the three-year programme.

The Sustainable Food Cities Network is an alliance of public, private and third sector organisations using food as a vehicle for driving positive changes. The Network helps people and places to share challenges, explore practical solutions and develop best practice in all aspects of sustainable food.