Topic 3.1
Food Economy

The food supply chain will act in a more equitable fashion supporting viable businesses that can pay living wages to provide nutritious food.

The planning system can often be a barrier for small and medium sized food and farming enterprises.

Whilst being the largest employer in the UK, the food sector has low wages.

Loss of local food production can increase the amount of food miles, harm the rural economy and reliance upon imported food.

Fresh produce is under-valued and consumers find processed food easier to access. 

Farmers and growers want to access markets themselves and grow connections with local citizens.

Support small and medium size food and farming businesses and social enterprises to diversify in a way that creates a strong local food system.

Allow diversification of farms to enable the sale of local produce on site or to be hubs for local markets.

Protect established and support provision of food infrastructure such as agricultural land, local processing and wholesale businesses, food markets, abattoirs, and small independent retailers, food hubs and distribution networks.

Assess all development proposals for their impact on the food supply system.

Sustain’s Good Food Economy report.

Sustain research found farmers would like to change how they supply their produce and proposes that Government works with local authorities to create local food and farming planning guidance which local authorities can tailor to their local area.

https://www.sustainweb.org/blogs/dec24-school-food-farming-economy/

Putting good food entrepreneurs and enterprises at the heart of local economic development and promoting them to consumers not only ensures that buying healthy and sustainable food becomes the easy choice but also creates jobs, businesses and prosperity while regenerating high streets and city centres.

Currently, the food sector as a whole, from farming, supply, manufacturing, through to hospitality and retail, is the largest employer in the UK, employing one in seven people. A disproportionately high number (22%) of workers in the food system earn the National Minimum Wage or below, compared to workers across the whole economy (8%). A thriving food economy should ensure good livelihoods, thriving local economies, alongside the environmental, social and the health benefits.

The National Food Strategy (2021) Recommendation 13. Addressed the link between sustainable food procurement, support for SMEs to gain access to public catering contracts leading to innovation and investment by the private sector. This in turn will ensure taxpayers’ money goes on healthy and sustainable food and help nurture a better food culture, especially through its influence on children eating school meals. Successful pilot projects proved the potential to deliver shorter, more transparent and sustainable food supply chains within the public sector. These pilots showed how local farmers were able supply the sector for the first time.

Impact of food hubs on food security and sustainability: Food hubs perspectives from Leeds, UK https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919224001167

A local area can take the following measures to help create or cement a good food economy: 

• Develop a good food retail plan to diversify the retail offer; 
• ensure the economic development and other relevant teams are engaged; 
• tailor business support to food enterprises; 
• stimulate start-ups, 
• support apprenticeships, 
• training and other schemes; 
• help SMEs and markets to work with shorter supply chains, reduce waste and become good employers; 
• use public procurement as a tool to achieve these and related aims;

Planning consents for food businesses

Local living wage employers: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/accredited-living-wage-employers 

Schools with The Food for Life Award: https://www.foodforlife.org.uk/

Environmental Health records

Warrington Local Plan 

DEV4 Economic Growth and Development: Sub heading ‘Supporting the Local Economy’:

13. The Council will seek to assist the continued viability and growth of the local economy by ensuring development proposals do not lead to the loss of viable, accessible sites and buildings used for industrial/commercial purposes or other employment generating uses in local communities including the countryside and its settlements. 
14. The sustainable growth, expansion and diversification of local and rural businesses will be supported, subject to meeting other relevant Local Plan and national policies. 
15. When the genuine needs of local rural businesses cannot be accommodated within settlement boundaries, and development would be located within the Green Belt, proposals will need to demonstrate that ‘Very Special Circumstances’ exist to warrant the granting of planning permission. 

Procurement:

https://www.sustainablefoodplaces.org/resources/files/presentations/Bath-North_East_Somerset_case_study.pdf

Food for Life Leicestershire – championing good food

Food for Life Leicestershire has been commissioned by Leicestershire County Council’s Public Health team, working with schools to champion healthy and sustainable food.

https://www.ffl.uat.e78.co.uk/media/in0gzdkj/new-leicestershire-impact-report-2024.pdf

Veg People

During the harvest season, the majority of produce comes from within 50 miles of Manchester city centre. The growers, workers and the buyers are all members and work together to make produce fair and affordable. They crop plan together to provide a secure market for growers. This farm to fork collaboration gives fresh produce to restaurants and cafes across Manchester. A map of restaurants enables diners to choose local. Veg People has experience of working with the public sector, having run a successful pilot in a Stockport secondary school. https://kindling.org.uk/ManchesterVegPeople