Arun & Chichester has won a prestigious Sustainable Food Places award. The award recognises Arun & Chichester Food Partnership’s work to promote healthy, sustainable and local food and to tackle some of today’s greatest social challenges; from food poverty and diet-related ill-health, to the disappearance of family farms and the loss of independent food retailers.
Established in 2020, the Arun and Chichester Food Partnership brings together local government, charities, community groups and housing associations working together to make good food accessible to all, now and in the future. The partnership has prioritised tackling food poverty through supporting food projects, establishing local networks and distributing £60,000 of funding to support people with food through the cost-of-living crisis. The partnership has established a community food growing network and set up new growing spaces to provide opportunities for people to learn a skill, make friends and access healthy produce.
Pam Bushby from Chichester District Council and Co-Chair of the Arun and Chichester Food Partnership, said:
“We’re delighted that the partnership’s work has been recognized in this way. Unfortunately food poverty is a huge issue and the partnership has made a real difference to many people who have been experiencing cost of living related issues. We’re really proud of what has been achieved so far and we are looking forward to working on further projects to help people access the high quality food that everyone deserves.”
Leon Ballin, the Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager, said:
“Arun & Chichester 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, Arun & Chichester 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.”
Peter Lawrence, West Sussex County Council’s Partnerships & Communities Manager, said:
“The Arun and Chichester Food Partnership has been a valuable partner during the pandemic and cost of living crisis, having a real influence on improving the local food system and supporting the distribution of funding support to residents. An award well deserved and West Sussex County Council look forward to continuing the partnership approach to improving the food system for residents.”
