Food connects community health, economic resilience, climate action and tackling inequality. Most councils recognise this - but food work is often fragmented across departments, under-resourced and not always easy to prioritise.
Good Food Local can help
Led by Sustain, Good Food Local gives councils a practical framework for improving their local food system and making measurable progress for health, equity and the environment. When regions take part together, the impact is even greater.
The challenge
- Food connects health, economic resilience, climate, and inequality.
- Councils often work in silos, with limited resources.
- Opportunities for impact are missed when efforts are fragmented.
The regional programme
- Provides a practical framework and self-assessment tool.
- Structured reports with recommendations.
- Connections, peer learning, and case studies.
Outcomes
- Identify shared challenges and opportunities, turning a fragmented picture into a clear regional view.
- Develop a community of practice to share learning and good practice.
- Improved understanding and approach to food systems thinking (what works!).
- Stronger relationships across councils and food partnerships for long -term collaboration.
- Progress on health, equity environmental agendas.
Over the past 14 years, regions including London, the North East and the South West have used Good Food Local to strengthen collaboration, share learning and drive coordinated action.
Each participating council completes a simple self-assessment based on the Sustainable Food Places six key themes, alongside other regional authorities. Each Local Authority receives a report and results are displayed on the Good Food Local map.
Councils also gain connections with others doing the same work, access to case studies and peer learning, and the opportunity to showcase both local and regional progress.
Could your region be next? Find out more below.
What we offer
- Access to an easy-to-use platform with a self-assessment tool based on the Sustainable Food Places six key themes, completed as a regional cohort
- A summary report and recommendations for each participating local authority
- Opportunities to feature on the Good Food Local map and share regional or place-based achievements through case studies and Sustain communications
What helps delivery work well
The strongest regional programmes have a dedicated person coordinating activity and supporting participation across councils and food partnerships. This involves:
- Communicating about the assessment framework and coordinating timetable
- Sharing resources to support participation and troubleshooting issues (with Sustain’s support)
- Promoting participation and sharing results across networks
Additional elements available from Sustain
‘The Sustain team are insightful, knowledgeable and supportive of all partners even those at the start of their thinking on this issue. Sustain also helpfully shared a lot of information about good practice that has helped elsewhere’.
Dudu Sher-Arami, Director of Public Health, The London Borough of Enfield
Systems change workshops
- Regional workshops bring colleagues together to explore food systems thinking and collaborate on approaches that support health, equity and environmental outcomes.
- Local authority workshops support cross-departmental teams to map the food system, identify shared priorities, and develop practical action plans.
These workshops help uncover existing activity, strengthen relationships across departments, and create new opportunities for collaboration. They can also be delivered separately as part of our consultancy offer. See here for more detail.
Regional report
We can produce a bespoke regional report highlighting trends, recommendations and case studies from participating councils, hosted on the Good Food Local website.
Regional roundtable
Following the assessment, Sustain can host a regional roundtable to share learning, reflect on results and explore next steps for regional collaboration.
Tailored assessment questions
We can work with regions to develop additional questions that reflect local contexts, priorities and partnerships.
Are you from an individual local authority looking for your region to take part?
Sustain can support you to champion Good Food Local within your region and bring other Local Authorities on board. Contact goodfoodlocal@sustainweb.org.
Contact us now for more information
More information on Sustain consultancy services.
Find out more
Good Food Local: The North East Report 2024. Credit: Sustain
