Food Issues Census identifies Sustain among top three most connected organisations

The Food Issues Census is a UK-based survey conducted in 2024/25 that aims to understand the landscape of civil society organisations in the UK working on food and farming issues. Aimed at audiences in civil society and the funders of such work, it sought to map what organisations are doing, identify where there are gaps in capacity, and explore opportunities for greater collaboration.

Download The Food Issues Census 2024-25 report here, with a two-page summary of insights here.  

This third iteration of the Food Issues Census shines a spotlight on the critical work being done by organisations and communities tackling the UK’s most urgent food and farming challenges. It paints a vivid picture of the sector, amplifying the voices of those driving transformation and providing data to inform decisions that will shape its future.

The report aims to make information about the sector accessible and actionable for everyone involved in, or interested in, food and farming work. It highlights shared priorities, and points to practical solutions to sustain and amplify collective efforts.

Around 130 civil society organisations responded to the Food Issues Census survey from all regions of the UK, and from a diverse range of types of organisations. 

Key findings

The survey found that food and farming organisations are working across a broad range of issues, with strong focus on environmental sustainability, food security, and agroecological farming. Since the last Census in 2017, there has been a clear rise in climate-focused work, alongside a continued emphasis on household food insecurity. 

Many organisations are deeply engaged with marginalised communities, including people in financial hardship and racially minoritised groups. Collaboration is strong -with key partners like Sustain, Soil Association, and Landworkers’ Alliance - and there is a growing appetite for deeper connections with government bodies and local authorities.

The report describes civil society organisations working on food and farming as “a sector under pressure”, with funding being the biggest constraint, with limited and unpredictable resources undermining long-term planning. Environmental pressures, policy uncertainty and workforce challenges were also cited as stalling progress. It calls for:

• Long-term, flexible and inclusive funding
• Fair pay for people’s time and lived experience
• Space for collaboration, not competition
• Research rooted in community knowledge
• Smarter, more agile ways of working

It also conveys a call to “support the slow, networked work of transformation”, underlining that “change takes time,” but that, “with bold, sustained investment, the food and farming sector can shape a fairer, greener, more resilient future for all”.

Background to the Food Issues Census

This Census builds on previous censuses coordinated by Food Ethics Council in 2017 and 2011. It casts light upon the specific needs, resources and experiences across the four UK nations.

The Food Issues Census 2024-25 set out to: 

• re-map the landscape of civil society organisations working on food & farming illuminate who is working on what
• understand civil society needs and capacity to meet food system challenges ask what is needed from funders
• support a more dynamic, coherent and impactful sector

The organisers convey their thanks to the 130+ organisations who contributed, and to the Food Issues Census steering group from A Team Foundation, Treebeard Trust, Farming the Future, Sustain, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Brink!, Nourish Scotland, Ennismore Foundation, Food Sense Wales, and Platform London, who co-designed this work. It was led by the Food Ethics Council, with Nadeen Haidar as Project Lead and Principal Writer, and design by Jaś Lewicki.