Bristol achieves Gold Sustainable Food City status

Efforts across Bristol’s culinary sector and communities to address social, environmental and economic issues have helped secure the title of Gold Sustainable Food City.

Only the second city in the UK to be awarded the status, this latest accolade has been hailed as a testament to the way in which grassroots and mainstream organisations have rallied together even through the pandemic to foster positive change.

Joy Carey, the director of Bristol Food Network and strategic coordinator of the gold bid explains: “How we produce, trade, eat and waste food influences the most pressing issues facing us today: from climate and ecological breakdown to human health and well-being, from poverty and justice to animal welfare.

“This is why food matters and is why, since achieving silver status in 2016, we’ve been determined to support and uncover more individuals, projects and initiatives that are contributing positively to a fairer, healthier and more sustainable food system for the city and its citizens.”

The winning application focused on themes of reducing food waste, community action, buying better, urban growing, eating better and food equality.

Among the projects included in the bid were:

Grow Wilder, an education centre and growing site empowering people to bring about positive change through sustainable food growing and wildlife-friendly practices in Stapleton.

Efforts of UWE Bristol and the University of Bristol to take action to transform institutional food culture, including sustainable sourcing, redistributing surplus food, plant-based menus and gardening projects.

The Children’s Kitchen, a programme established by Feeding Bristol to explore eating and growing fresh produce with children.

FOOD Clubs, which are a partnership project between Family Action, Feeding Bristol and FareShare South West and provide nutritious food to families at a fraction of the normal cost.

Work by Feeding Bristol, Fareshare South West and others were included as part of the bid – photo courtesy of FareShare South West

Deputy mayor Asher Craig, who is chair of the Going for Gold steering group said: “Despite the most challenging of years, we’ve seen extraordinary altruism and a continued fight to resolve not just the issues caused by the pandemic but broader pre-existing social and environmental issues.

“Our gold achievement is a testament to the whole city rallying together and taking action, from citizens and organisations to policymakers. More than ever, there is a collective energy calling for food that is good for people, communities and the planet to be available to everyone in Bristol. This award makes clear that Bristol is on the right path towards a better food future for all citizens.”

Bristol Bites Back Better is a campaign that was established in the wake of the first lockdown with a mission to empower people to create a food system that will nourish the city into the future and aims to draw out and amplify voices from the diverse communities.

Its work so far formed a significant part of the application for Gold Sustainable Food City status, which was awarded by Sustainable Food Places. Brighton and Hove is the only other place in the UK to have been awarded the title.

Commenting on the accolade, Mohammed Saddiq, chair of Bristol Green Capital Partnership, says: “The aim of bringing the whole city together to create a fairer, greener, healthier food system perfectly aligns with our work, which seeks to foster city-wide collaboration on a range of environmental issues and make links between them.

“In the past year – and since we supported the launch of the Bristol Bites Back Better campaign in response to the pandemic – there has been huge levels of interest and action from the city’s businesses that are intent on doing better.

“The partnership will be continuing to support and motivate organisations to take further and faster action to help Bristol meet its ambitious climate and ecological goals. Food will be a key part of this, and the relationships and collaboration that have come out of the work to achieve this status are an ideal platform to build upon.”

Joy adds: “This moment is one to be celebrated, but most definitely not an endpoint for us and all the other key stakeholders in this project.

“We’re gearing up to start work on the Bristol Good Food 2030 action plan, which will see a more joined-up approach to tackling issues such as food insecurity, access to land for growing and food waste, as well as finding better ways to empower Bristolians to create a healthy, accessible and diverse food system fit for the next decade.

“It’s so important that this plan is framed around the real needs and hopes of our city’s people and communities, and that’s why we’re asking everyone to join the conversation to share their vision for food in Bristol.”

Main photo: Joseph Turp

Read more: Sharing a love of food across different Bristol communities