Bridging the Gap
No matter who we are and how much money we have, we should all be able to eat food that is good for us, good for our planet and pays the people who grow it a fair price.
An alternative is possible.
The Bridging the Gap is a UK-wide programme exploring new ethical supply chains that support farmers and local communities, and bring organic fruit and veg to more people.
Nine co-designed pilots bridged the gap - between fruit, veg and pulses, grown using organic methods by Small and Medium (SME) farmers - and people on low incomes, in both retail and school settings. Through action-based research the programme found that it is possible to overcome barriers and identified how these approaches could be scaled to fix the UK food system.
Report: How to fix the food system for everyone
The Bridging the Gap report shows how investment in organic fruit and veg could deliver huge national returns for communities across the UK, and sets out three main policy recommendations: fix the supply, fix the missing middle, fix the access.
Report: How to make school food work for children, farmers and planet
Drawing on three pilot projects in schools, this report shows the impact that investing in organic in public sector food can have on boosting the horticulture sector while enabling access to nutritious locally grown fruit, veg and pulses to young people in schools.
The pilots
Meet the nine pilots co-produced with people working in food and farming, reflecting our six approaches to bridge the gap.
Evidence from the pilots help advocate for urgent national and local level policy change.
Ways to get involved
Want to find out more and stay up to date with the pilots and events?
Are you a researcher, or policy or advocacy expert in this space? Do you have examples of how projects could bridge the gap? Please email us.
Film
Watch the Bridging the Gap pilots working to change the UK food system.
Six approaches to Bridge the Gap
We believe that it will take a combination of policies to bridge the gap.
We have grouped these in our six approaches. Click through to find out more about these approaches.
Latest
Past events
Our partners
Sustain, Alexandra Rose Charity and Growing Communities working with Food Sense Wales, Nourish NI and Nourish Scotland are bringing together organisations united in the belief that everyone has the right to healthy and affordable food that works for the planet.
Bridging the Gap is supported by the National Lottery Community Fund.
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