Is it time for a Buckinghamshire Food Partnership?

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Sustain has been convening two working groups in Aylesbury and High Wycombe which have been delivering the frontline response to the coronavirus crisis, supported by Buckinghamshire Council.

More than 100 charity and community group members have met weekly during the crisis, sourced cardboard boxes and fresh food, commissioned their own volunteers to make masks for each other, moved resources around, shared their knowledge and experience, speedily unpicked and taken on the latest government guidance, and provided each other with support and a sounding board. Within these groups, time and again, one theme has emerged – the value of collaboration. Despite how awful the crisis has been for many; whether it has been those who have been ill, lost loved ones, or struggled to get food on the table; our emergency response partnership members have emphasised that they don’t want to go back to their old, fairly isolated, ways of working.
Since January 2020, we have been gathering background evidence as to the current state of Buckinghamshire’s local food system – in terms of people’s health and access to nutritious food, sustainable food choices and behaviours, land and water use, and the condition of Buckinghamshire’s food businesses. But this crisis has catapulted the need for good partnership working into the spotlight.

Here’s how you can feed into whether a partnership is needed, and what it should focus on:
1.    Answer some key questions using this online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BucksFoodPartnership2020 by 5pm on 31st July 2020
2.    Book your place on an online Buckinghamshire food stakeholder discussion group on 29th July at 5.30 - 7pm, or 30th July at 2 - 3.30pm
3.    Or get in touch with hannah@sustainweb.org to have a more in-depth conversation. 

For more information on the context of the work in Buckinghamshire, read this briefing.