In our annual Overall and Beyond the Food Bank tables and series of good food maps, we shine a light on each council's approach to food partnerships, household food insecurity, food related ill health and the wider food system. Sustain started work in the North East in 2023. This is the third year of Good Food Local participation for local authorities in the North East, so the scores show progress in the councils’ journeys to ensure good food for all.
What does the report cover?
The measures align with Sustainable Food Places’ six key themes. There is also an emphasis on diversity, equality and inclusion to encompass work on this topic across all themes.
Food governance and strategy - looks at council action on taking a joined-up approach to food through food partnerships, policy and strategies.
Food growing and other community food action - assesses council action to support more people to grow their own food, increase land available for growing, as well as build a local good food movement and platform community voices beyond food growing.
Healthy food for all: addressing food poverty - reviews council action to address household food insecurity looking ‘Beyond the Food Bank’, with a focus on tackling the root causes of poverty and increasing dignified access to good food.
Healthy food for all: stemming the tide of unhealthy products and championing healthier food - from schools, workplaces and communities to catering, high streets and advertising, local authorities can act to make food environments healthier, improving the lives and health of local communities.
Sustainable food economy - reviews how councils are joining up work on improving the local economy and regeneration, with the availability of affordable, healthy and sustainable food including any work undertaken under the Good Food Retail agenda.
Catering and procurement - assesses one of the key areas where councils can act to reduce food-related emissions, and promote climate and nature-friendly food while supporting local economies, promoting healthy food and buying into more localised and resilient supply chains.
Food for the Planet – looks at commitments and actions taken on food to tackle the climate and nature emergency including bringing down carbon emissions and managing food waste.
Sustainable Agriculture – looks at actions taken to support farming that is in line with the principles of agroecology.
How does the report help councils take action?
The report is a valuable resource to support councils and food partnerships to identify where to take action on critical food issues that affect the food system as a whole.
By illustrating clearly where councils are making progress, and areas that might need more capacity and resource, this data helps councils make the case to continue to take action on food, and regionally to work together sharing learning, prioritising areas of work and combining resources.
It also includes case studies to share good practice, and the comparison table shows areas of strength and weakness across the region, allowing councils to celebrate achievements, identify gaps and track progress year on year to give a wider view of progress.
Survey approach
Following the success of our Good Food Local approach in London, Sustain worked with ADPH North East, all 12 councils in the North East region and Cumberland to adapt the survey to collect the information used and scored in this report. We developed the questions based on our decades of close work with councils on food issues and by engaging with North East partners to tailor the questions to the local setting, which were reviewed and updated each year between 2023-2026. Sustain programme leads, external expert partners and feedback from councils were used to shape criteria. All councils in the North East were invited to complete a baseline survey in 2024 to self-report on action taken and future plans as well as data from external sources. Councils completed a shorter survey in 2025, and repeated the full baseline survey between October 2025 and February 2026.
The scoring and maps show four levels of action based on survey responses: No Action or More Action Required (0), Foundations (1), Good Practice (2), and Leadership (3). For the first time, we have indicated on the maps where councils have undertaken no action, and where they have reported some action, but not yet met the criteria for Foundations. For some measures, we identified specific actions to indicate a council’s progress level; for some measures, it was the total number of actions taken that was used to determine their score.
The scoring tables provide an overview of council performance in each theme, indicated by colours, with the darkest colour indicating leadership and the lightest colour indicating a foundational score.
Case studies
Celebrating the good work taking place across the North East is an important part of this project. We have worked with several councils to put together inspiring case studies to showcase the innovative work they are doing to help residents to access healthy, affordable and sustainable food, and inspire other councils.
What's happening in your council?
This project is coordinated by Good Food Local at Sustain, to celebrate and encourage action by councils on food system issues, spanning policy areas which sit under several council departments.
We are grateful to Impact on Urban Health for providing the funding that makes this work possible and to the Association of Directors of Public Health North East for their in-kind contribution.
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