Autumn Budget: Five things the Chancellor can do for a more resilient food system

Two questions about food should sit behind John Healey's decisions for his first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer on Wednesday. Can the UK keep good food on the shelves as climate and global shocks intensify? And can families afford to eat well? A resilient food system needs a dependable supply of nutritious food, and people who can afford to buy it.

The Budget is a chance to strengthen both sides together. Here are Sustain’s five priorities.

1. Give farmers the confidence to invest, and grow more British fruit and veg

Environmental Land Management funding is only guaranteed until 2029, and it is not yet clear what will exist beyond that. Farms need long-term support that helps them improve profitability and invest in the natural infrastructure that profitability depends on, from healthy soils to reliable water and thriving nature. It should also reach horticultural and smaller-scale producers who currently struggle to access schemes.

The Horticulture Sector Growth Plan also needs a dedicated multi-year budget. Research by Green Alliance, an observer member of Sustain, estimates that expanding UK horticulture could add £2.3 billion to the economy and support 23,520 jobs.

Sustain recently produced a briefing for MPs on the necessary changes to the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

2. Rebuild local food infrastructure and connect producers with buyers

Decades of consolidation have stripped out much of the local storage, processing and distribution capacity that smaller producers need to reach larger markets. A Local Food Infrastructure Fund for food hubs, regional grain networks, shared storage and processing would help rebuild it.

Sustain also wants to see a supply chain facilitator in every local authority, helping local farmers and producers win public contracts in schools and hospitals. Breaking large contracts into smaller lots would help further, using money the public sector already spends.

Sustain's Bridging the Gap programme has highlighted how investment in local food infrastructure and supply-chain coordination can help smaller producers reach larger markets, strengthen local economies and improve food resilience.

3. Fund local food partnerships

When a food shock hits, it is felt first in local places. Being ready depends on knowing which households are most at risk and which trusted organisations can get food moving quickly.

Local food partnerships already do this work. More than 120 members of Sustainable Food Places across the UK bring together councils, farmers, food businesses, schools, charities and community groups. During Covid, areas with a partnership in place responded faster and reached vulnerable people more effectively than central systems could.

The National Preparedness Commission’s 2025 report Just in Case report found that civil food resilience barely features in UK forward planning and recommended local Food Resilience Committees, for which food partnerships are a natural foundation. Yet most survive on year-to-year funding, and Local Resilience Forums are not currently required to plan for food.

Wales has made progress here while England lags behind. Food partnerships now operate in all 22 Welsh local authorities, backed by Welsh Government funding secured through to March 2028.

Sustain is calling for multi-year core funding for a food partnership in every local authority area in England, with a recognised role in local resilience planning. Sustain has recently produced a briefing on this issue.

4. Open up Healthy Start to help families with rising food bills

A resilient food system is one where families can still afford good food when prices rise. Healthy Start is one of the most direct ways the Government can help families with young children manage rising food bills.

New analysis from The Food Foundation, a Sustain member, finds that 750,000 pregnant women and children in Universal Credit households are missing out because of strict eligibility rules. Families on Universal Credit only qualify if they earn under £408 a month, and support stops when a child turns four, leaving a gap before they start school.

Sustain is calling for eligibility to cover all families on Universal Credit, including four-year-olds and families with no recourse to public funds who meet the income criteria. Opt-out enrolment and inflation-linked payments would also help. Research by Sustain, The Food Foundation and the University of Birmingham shows that expanding eligibility would return £2.36 for every £1 invested, generating £7.7 billion in net benefits over ten years.

5. Fund school meals properly, and make sure they deliver

Since the 2024 election, the Government has made school food a central part of its cost of living offer, extending free school meals to every child in a Universal Credit household and rolling out free breakfast clubs. These guarantee children a nutritious meal every school day, whatever is happening to food prices.

To deliver that promise, funding needs to match real costs. Schools currently receive £2.66 per free school meal, while estimates of the true cost range from £3.16 to £3.45. The School Food Review has recommended a £73.5 million annual subsidy for the 10,500 schools in England with 225 pupils or fewer.

Schools also need a proper system for monitoring and support. A new School Food Standards monitoring framework is due from September 2027, and a Food Standards Agency pilot found that checks are viable but need resourcing. This gives confidence that spending on school meals delivers real returns for children’s health and learning.

School meals also strengthen supply and they account for around 60% of the £5 billion the UK spends each year on public-sector food. Sustain found that aligning free school meal expansion with British and sustainable sourcing could deliver a £600 million annual boost to UK farming and local economies.

Laying the foundations for a Good Food Bill

Investment in food is investment in the economy. These measures would strengthen British farming and help every family afford good food. They would also lay the groundwork for a Good Food Bill, backed by more than 100 organisations, giving local food planning a statutory footing and supporting the Government’s commitment to end the need for emergency food.