From reducing waste to tackling food poverty, the South West shares local wins via Good Food Local

The South West joins London and the North East as the latest UK region to use Sustain’s Good Food Local benchmarking tool, with 15 Local Authorities coming together to strengthen their local food system and drive meaningful change for communities.

The 15 local authorities that make up the South West region of England are the latest cohort to come together and track food policy work in their area via Sustain’s Good Food Local benchmarking tool. This marks the beginning of a process for the region – already known for its rich food landscape and commitment to sustainable food - to better understand and strengthen its food system and build momentum on a shared food agenda.

Whether working to improve residents’ health, support the local food economy, or advance climate goals, Sustain’s Good Food Local benchmarking approach supports councils to take a holistic view across policies and programmes and drive meaningful change. It also reduces duplication, improves cross-department coordination, and provides a simple way to track progress, celebrate achievements, and share good practice.

Dr Justin Varney-Bennett, Regional Director of Public Health said: 

"The South West has a long and proud tradition of good food, with a deep connection between land, sea and communities. Across the region, local authorities and partners play a critical role in strengthening food systems to improve population health, tackle inequalities, and support local producers and businesses. By taking part in Sustain’s Good Food Local survey, councils are building a clearer picture of where progress is being made and where further action is needed. Benchmarking as a regional cohort also gives us the opportunity for stronger collective leadership and faster progress."

Initial findings from the first benchmarking exercise in the South West have already uncovered great practice in a number of areas that span a holistic approach to food work. Within the highest scoring theme – Sustainability and Local Food Production - Bath & North East Somerset council and Devon County Council demonstrate excellent support for initiatives to reduce / reuse / recycle food waste, with others, including Cornwall Council demonstrating support for local farming, estate management and regenerative food production. 

Other ways in which councils are leading the way and showing what’s possible across the region include the partnership approach Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is taking to tackle food poverty, which has a particular focus on embedding lived experience in decision making and in, Bristol, where the council goes the extra mile to procure healthier and sustainable food through the Bristol Eating Better Award.

Plymouth City Council is also leveraging funding, officer time and wider support for community-led approaches to food including local food organisations and networks, Wellbeing & Family Hubs for access to affordable food & cooking skills, and the development of cooperatives & social supermarkets.

Professor Steve Maddern, Director of Public Health for Plymouth said:

“Participating in Good Food Local has led to many reinvigorated conversations with both internal and external partners across the local food system. We are fortunate to work in a city that recognises the benefit of collaborating on shared outcomes and which is ably facilitated by our local food partnership, Food Plymouth. Dedicating resource to this piece of work has helped to identify areas of real strength such as community empowerment, but has also highlighted some areas for further development. Thanks to OHID, coordinating the simultaneous benchmarking of all the local authorities in the South West will enable us as a region to identify any common themes and collaborate on enabling meaningful systems change”.

In addition, two Local Authorities – Swindon and Bristol City Council - have a fully signed-off Healthier Food Advertising policy which meets Sustain’s minimum standards as featured on this map. The hope now is that more Local Authorities are inspired to follow suit and implement their own, robust advertising policies, helping to create healthier places and protecting communities from unhealthy food adverts. 

Christina Gray, Director for Communities and Public Health at Bristol City Council said:

"Taking part in the Good Food Local survey has helped us benchmark Bristol’s food work, strengthen collaboration across the council, and highlight our whole system approach to healthy, sustainable and equitable food. Being part of the regional network is already creating valuable opportunities for shared learning and joint working, supporting us to advance coordinated, evidence informed food initiatives across the city."

Local authorities from across the region will now come together as a group to share learnings and experiences – an approach that has helped the North East, another Good Food Local region, to take their food work from strength to strength.

Hannah Crump, Local Policy Co-ordinator at Sustain said:

"We’re delighted to welcome the South West as the third region to participate in Good Food Local, and to share some of the excellent work happening locally. We also recognise the commitment of the local authorities who all tracked their food work together. We know from our work in London and the North East that a regional, co-ordinated approach to food systems change works, and we’re excited to see where the South West takes this next."

Learn more about how councils in the South West have helped to build healthy, sustainable communities.

South West maps

If you are from a council or region and want to make and measure impact across the food and farming system, get in touch with the Sustain team to find out how Good Food Local could help you. 

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