What can your local authority do?
Local authorities across London and the UK are supporting food growing in schools in many different ways, with the support of Food Growing Schools: London. Our research shows that incorporating food growing into whole school activities, across curriculum subjects, and with local community support has a significant impact on health, the economy, education, community cohesion and the environment, for all. To read a summary of the mounting evidence take a look at our Research Findings.
There are many ways to help create a culture of food growing in your local area, find out how below.
Take local action
We can help you develop local borough food growing strategies that:
- Nurture and support local schools who have existing growing initiatives and create local flagship schools to inspire other schools to grow.
- Develop a local action plan for delivering a borough-wide approach to food growing.
- Set up a food growing partnership, with a network of local organisations;
- Identify existing community food growing groups and enterprises to engage with and support.
- Consult with local people, community groups, businesses and social landlords about food growing ideas and encourage them to work with their local schools
- Appoint gardening experts to help schools set up growing spaces;
- Run volunteer programmes to help schoools find food growing support
- Provide community allotment/growing spaces which schools can visit.
To find out what your London borough can do, and what free support is available please contact Gemma Squelch, Project Manager of Food Growing Schools: London: email or call 0207 065 0889.
Flagship Boroughs
The London boroughs of Lambeth and Croydon have each won c£600k to pioneer school-based & community projects to improve health and attainment, beating 20 other boroughs who applied. Announced by the Mayor of London, Lighter London, the ambitious five-year pilot projects will start from September 2014.
The boroughs are set to implement or expand a range of projects, including food growing, based in schools and designed to engage whole communities, including:
- Croydon - grants for community cooking and healthy eating projects; food growing on estates; food business start-up funds; cookery classes in the community; initiatives to reduce sugar intake by pupils.
- Lambeth - free school breakfasts; food growing projects linked to cooking lessons for children and parents; develop community food hubs in schools; launch fruit and veg voucher schemes in every borough children's centre; redistribute food set to go to waste to families in food poverty.
Food Growing Schools: London will be working with these boroughs to help them develop their school food growing programmes, working with the community.
Read the Guardian and Evening Standard articles.
Updates
The Food Flagships boroughs are making great progress with all the projects up and running. Additional work areas are also progressing.
January 2016 Update
The Mayor of London and Whole Kids Foundation have partnered to support edible garden projects in schools in the two Food Flagship boroughs. The application round closed on 4th December and a huge number of applications (74) were received.
- A total of 21 edible garden projects will be funded across the two boroughs, of which 12 are new and nine are existing. The partners are currently working with the schools on funding agreements and almost all projects will be finished by July 2016.
Croydon’s Community Gardening Project:
Croydon’s Community Gardening project, run by Garden Organic, is well underway. 16 participants have so far been trained as Master Gardeners, and Food Buddies will be recruited throughout January to provide further support. Aim is to increase access to food growing in the borough as well as implement food growing on prescription with the CCG and GP networks.
November 2015 update:
The School Garden Grants programme - a partnership between the Mayor of London and Whole Kids Foundation was launched in October and is offering edible garden grants to schools in the flagship boroughs.
On 11th November 2015, the first Edible walking route in London was launched in Clapham Common. This is an exciting partnership between Incredible Edible Lambeth, Food Growing Schools London (Garden Organic) and Incredible Edible Todmorden and the aim of the route is to bring together those who are passionate about local food in and around Clapham Common including schools, Lambeth College, the Business Improvement District, and others. We are hoping to see this community-led initiative replicated in other areas.
Good Food for London - Report 2015
Each borough in London can help secure a healthy and sustainable food future. Every year London Food Link produces an annual league table to map which London boroughs are demonstrating strong leadership and which are lagging behind.
How did your borough perform this year? - Good Food For London League Table 2015
Good Food For London Report 2014
Each year London Food Link produces an annual league table that shines a light on London’s local authorities, to encourage them to identifystraightforward and significant steps to improve food in their borough - as well as those lagging behind
How did your borough perform? - Good Food For London League Table 2014
Lambeth - a borough-wide approach to food growing
Lambeth - a borough wide approach to food growing (download PDF)
Lambeth Council’s initial journey into the world of food growing came through their Green Community Champions programme . In the first year more than 40 projects were set up, mainly down to the huge interest in food growing in the borough. This was helped by a pro-active Council officer who recognised the benefits of these projects and offered advice and support to local groups and colleagues.
This gave rise to a new way of thinking when working with local people, providing a more supportive role rather than a leadership role. This resident-led approach to food growing projects has helped shape other Council agendas and is challenging Council officers to work more directly with local people in other areas of work. As projects developed and local people requested greater support it was decided to create the Lambeth Food Partnership with a launch in June 2012.
The Lambeth Food Partnership has ten aims:
- Education - Provide education and learning initiatives both in formal and informal settings across the Borough to raise awareness of sustainable food issues.
- Networking - Provide networking opportunities to improve the connections between the various components of the food system, to share good learning and encourage partnership working.
- Policy - Ensure that all policies and strategies across the Borough, for example planning, economic development, support a sustainable food system in Lambeth.
- Food poverty / Access - Improve access to healthy affordable food for all residents.
- Waste - Reduce food related waste in Lambeth – reduce, re-use and recycle
- Land - Increase access to land for growing and other food related activities for residents and community groups.
- Culture/Behaviour change - Celebrate the cultural diversity of food in the Borough, encourage positive behaviour change to support health and wellbeing and provide opportunities for community engagement in food activities.
- Environmental sustainability - Promote food produced in ways which conserve and enhance the environment and contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions.
- Procurement - Introduce procurement policies within public institutions e.g. schools, hospitals which include sustainable and nutritious food, and which support animal welfare and fair-trade.
- Local economy - Encourage the development of a vibrant local food economy, support food related SMEs and local food growing initiatives.
The partnership initially started by writing a strategy along with mapping the various strands of work already taking place. It was also important to bring together the right partners from within various Council departments, the NHS, education, food growing projects and representation from the newly formed ‘Incredible Edible Lambeth’.
