Middlesbrough Food Partnership

Middlesbrough launched its first Food Sustainability Action Plan in 2010. The plan brought together partners from the public, private and third sector to build a programme of actions to make local and sustainable food choices available to Middlesbrough’s residents.

Middlesbrough has a strong sustainable food legacy: the ‘Urban Farming’ initiative, part of the Department of Health’s Healthy Town programme, developed growing spaces for residents and managed the annual ‘Town Meal’ and subsequent projects, that include the Big Lottery Local Food funded Grown in Middlesbrough, Growing East Middlesbrough and award winning Bee Friend initiatives have built upon and continued this work.

Current projects

Middlesbrough Food Partnership has been studying the food choices that local people make and how those choices affect their health and well-being, the environment and the prosperity of the town.

The Partnership is producing a new Food Action Plan which aims to give more people the opportunity to eat good quality sustainable food that is easier to buy and offers value for money and helps protect the environment.

The draft Action Plan has six key themes: health and nutrition, sustainable food, fairness/tackling food poverty, reducing food waste, education and skills and a strong local food economy.

The themes cover 40 ambitions ranging from a new Charter for businesses, a Residents’ Food Pledge, better support for food banks, cooking skills events, growing more local food, improving food purchasing networks and doing more to help people who find themselves in ‘food poverty’.

In addition to the Food Partnership, a specialist group looking at food procurement has been established, bringing Middlesbrough and Askham Bryan Colleges, Teesside University, Middlesbrough Council and James Cook University Hospital together to look at large scale local food buying.

The One Planet Middlesbrough: Creating Sustainable Communities project is developing a local food database and website and has projects underway that include a sustainable microwave cookbook and a seasonal food calendar. The OPM: CSC team also work in partnership with Middlesbrough Farmers’ Market and Teesside University Student Food Co-op to promote sustainable food.

Middlesbrough Environment City also manage several healthy food and cooking projects – more information can be found here.

Documents

Middlesbrough Food Action Plan

The residents’ Food Pledge and Food Charter are currently undergoing consultation.