Greater Lincolnshire has become the latest region to win a prestigious Sustainable Food Places award.

The award recognises Greater Lincolnshire 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. 

Food Partners across the whole of Greater Lincolnshire are working towards fairer, greener, healthier food for all, in a variety of ways. 

Across the county - from Ropsley Market Garden CSA near Grantham to Willoughby Road Allotments Association in Boston, and the Grow & Share allotment at Low Fulney to EcoSerenity CIC near the Humber Bridge - community gardens, orchards and CSA projects are galvanising their communities through shared food-growing.

Meanwhile in Lincoln, multiple organisations including the Community Larder, foodbanks and faith groups are working together to offer emergency food. Training in healthy cooking, a new Membership Grocery and the repurposing of surplus into healthy ready meals are enabling better access to affordable food.

The Seed Co-operative near Spalding is building the food sovereignty movement through the production of organic, open-pollinated seed production.

Washingborough Academy near Lincoln is demonstrating how schools can integrate healthy food into every aspect of the school life - from producing food on site that is used in the school kitchen, to embedding Taste Education into the curriculum.

Nigel Curry, founding Chair of the Partnership said: “This important award is testimony to the hard work and vision of the Partnership Co-ordinators, Laura Stratford and Ticky Nadal, who have developed the partnership into a real force in the county for food quality, food justice and the natural environment.” 

Laura Stratford, Joint Co-ordinator of the Partnership, said: “There is so much more to do, and the Food Partners that Ticky and I have the privilege of working with give us hope and inspiration. These organisations are creating ways for more people to take an active role as food citizens, towards a more just and sustainable food system.” 

Leon Ballin, Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager, said: “The Greater Lincolnshire 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, Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership has helped to set a benchmark for the other 80+ members of the UK Sustainable Food Places Network to follow. We look forward to working with them over the months and years ahead to transform Greater Lincolnshire food culture and food system for the better.” 

To find out more, please visit the website here.