Good Food Strategy

Food that is good for our local economy and creates local resilience

We will support the development of our local economy through:

Ensuring there is a good access to a variety of healthy food, especially in rural communities.
Championing the commitment to a living wage within the food sector.
Testing alternative small-scale food production and models of sustainable food provision.
Working with local businesses and other partners to increase access to locally produced food and promote our local produce.

Recent price pressures have made it difficult to be a farmer in the UK, particularly for those who supply supermarkets, and many have left the field. This places the UK in a vulnerable position, as it is one of the least food self-sufficient countries – 54% of food on UK plates was grown in the UK.

With a changing climate and variable weather patterns, it is important that we encourage and support resilient, agroecological farming practices and ensure that farmers are fairly rewarded for their work.

It is possible to grow much more food in the UK, close to homes and reliably. According to researchers at Lancaster University, if all urban green spaces were used efficiently for food production, they could produce eight times the current UK fruit and vegetable production.

Increasing urban food growth, through community growing, allotments and city farms, alongside targeted work to increase access to food in rural and underserved areas, would help to ensure access to enough healthy food. Furthermore, developing alternative small-scale growing schemes, including Community Supported Agriculture, market gardens and more, will increase the reliability, variety and sustainability of food production, as well as connecting local populations to their food production.

Once the food is grown, it is important that local businesses make this available to local people. Sussex has amazing land for growing food; people should have access to fresh, healthy food without relying on imports, grown by people who are rewarded fairly.

More information

Please visit our resources section for more information about our work. You can also get in touch if you have any questions or you would like to be involved in supporting our work.

hello@arunchifood.org.uk