Lincolnshire is the food capital of the UK producing 1/8th of England's food.

During the Covid-19 crisis Greater Lincolnshire had a key role to play in helping to keep the food supply chains moving and quality food in our shops. The Greater Lincolnshire LEP still continues to work closely with businesses, facilitators and Government to support the food sector security since the Covid-19 impact. Some of the highlights of work undertaken and achieved over the last year include:

  • Two widely promoted and established schemes were Feed the Nation and Pick for Britain which were very successful
  • Deliver to the Nation and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport were two additional logistics schemes supporting the sector
  • Dedicated website pages were created and a number of specific newsletters including; Food Security; Lincolnshire Resilience Forum (Economic edition); Covid Newsletters and ramped up communications across all platforms
  • A dedicated helpline was set up within 2 weeks of the pandemic, along with additional support Advisors through the Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub which took hundreds of calls from the business community and provided tailored guidance, support, and advice
  • Successfully lobbied Government for inclusion of the horti / orni sector in support packages, extended working hours for the sector and drivers hours restrictions on logistics
  • Successfully accelerated robotics investment programme with UoL to gain £25.8m in total from Government Building Better Fund to include the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone
  • Worked collaboratively with public sector LRF departments and cells to ensure economic comms and requirements were central to planning

Chairman of Greater Lincolnshire Food Board and director of Greater Lincolnshire LEP Sarah Louise Fairburn said at the start of the crisis:

"Demand for food in our supermarkets has been unprecedented and I have seen this at first hand in our business, Fairburn Eggs. I am really proud of how Lincolnshire businesses have responded in helping to keep food on the nation’s shelves."

Scroll to the end of the page for our latest Food Security Newsletters and email kate.storey@lincolnshire.gov.uk to be added to the distribution list.

Page updated 10th May 2021.

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