It's time to vote in London's first ever Urban Food Awards!

After an open invitation for entries earlier in this summer, 80 enterprises are now in the running for the ultimate London foodie accolade: an Urban Food Award. Three entries attracting the most votes in each of four categories will go through to a final round in which a panel of expert judges will decide the ultimate winners. The categories are best: producer (sponsored by Seeds of Change), retailer, eatery, and educator.

The opening of the public vote today coincides with the start of Urban Food Fortnight, and ends on 31 October 31.

Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, said: ‘London is crammed with extraordinary food enterprises that add to the flavour and vibrancy to our city. The Urban Food Awards are designed to celebrate this food scene and I urge Londoners to vote for their food favourites.’

Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw to win a pair of tickets to a gastronomic gala at Whole Foods Market on High Street Kensington (4 December) where the winners will be announced.

The Urban Food Awards and Urban Food Fortnight are both part of Urban Food Routes, an initiative funded by the Mayor of London and Seeds of Change, which provides grants and expert advice to small food enterprises in London to help them thrive and benefit people in their local communities. The support is coordinated by the Plunkett Foundation, with help from Growing Communities and London Food Link.

Read more about Urban Food Routes at www.urbanfoodroutes.org.uk
It’s sweet to tweet about the #urbanfoodawards

**ENDS**

For more information about the Urban Food Awards, please contact Chris Young at London Food Link: chris [at] sustainweb.org  or 0203 5596 777

For more information about Urban Food Routes, please contact Monica Dolan at Plunkett Foundation: monica.dolan [at] plunkett.co.uk  or 01993 810730

******************
NOTES
The Urban Food Awards are here to celebrate small, good food enterprises. As such, the judges will be particularly interested in those that do great stuff in their local communities and work hard for the benefit of people and planet more generally. 

As well as turning out tasty tucker and having a sound business model, enterprises are encouraged to highlight any ways in which they:

• produce or use more sustainable food
• offer social benefits
• contribute to the local economy
• enhance the health of people and our environment

Additional Urban Food Awards that are being nominated and awarded by expert judging panels alone will be:

• Capital Growth Enterprise Award
• Krys Zasada Markets Award
• Good Food Borough Awards

About Urban Food Routes

In April 2014, the Urban Food Routes partners announced the thirty two, London-based, small food enterprises that are now receiving business advice and funding from The Plunkett Foundation. www.urbanfoodroutes.org.uk

Other work being funded by Urban Food Routes this year include:

The Start-Up Programme
Growing Communities is still offering financial support and mentoring to enterprises setting-up new, community-led box schemes to supply local people with fresh produce direct from farmers and other food growers.  This work is funded exclusively by the London Food Board. Enterprises can apply until Monday 15 December 2014 at:
www.growingcommunities.org/start-ups

Urban Food Fortnight
Now in its fourth year, this annual London Food Link event gives Londoners the chance to feast on the fabulous ultra-local produce being grown, made and cooked on our doorstep. Activities from 12-28 September will include special menus from some of the capital’s top restaurants, pop-up events, supper clubs in growing spaces and allotments, botanical cocktail nights, foraging walks and urban cookery classes. People can find (and add) details of local shenanigans at:
www.urbanfoodfortnight.org

The Jellied Eel
Published by London Food Link, The Jellied Eel is the magazine for ethical eating in London. Dished up every three months, The 'Eel celebrates the best of London’s local larder and foodie folks who keep the wellbeing of people and planet at the heart of what they do. Each issue of the magazine is read by more than 50,000 Londoners, who get their quarterly helping from around 150 of the capital's tastiest establishments.
www.thejelliedeel.org

The Big Dig
On Saturday 22 March, more than 80 food gardens across London took part in the third annual Big Dig Day, run by London Food Link’s Capital Growth team. The event attracted 961 volunteers, succeeding in Capital Growth’s mission to encourage more people to help out at local growing spaces. Branching out beyond London, the day saw a further 300 volunteers digging in at 69 gardens across 15 other towns around the UK.
www.bigdig.org.uk

About the Urban Food Routes partners

• The Plunkett Foundation is an active supporter of the community food sector, and since 2007 has helped over 1,900 community food enterprises, primarily through the Making Local Food Work programme, including The People’s Supermarket and Growing Communities in Hackney. www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk www.plunkett.co.uk
• The London Food Board is an advisory group of independent food policy organisations and experts which oversees the implementation of The Mayor of London’s Food Strategy: Healthy and Sustainable Food for London, published in 2006 (and referred to here as the London Food Strategy) and to co-ordinate work and lead the debate on sustainable food issues in the Capital.www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/working-in-partnership/london-food-board/london-food-board
• Seeds Of Change® began as a small organic seed farm in the USA in 1989 with a simple mission: "To preserve biodiversity and promote the use of sustainable organic agricultural practices." Since then it has grown into a successful organic food business, with a range of cooking sauces, pasta sauces, pasta and rice and grains products, available across the UK. Seeds of Change is part of Mars Incorporated, a family-owned business established in 1911 across six business units employing more than 72,000 associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance. www.seedsofchange.co.uk
• London Food Link is a key food-network of Sustain the alliance for better food and farming. Its initiatives include Capital Growth network of food gardens, Urban Food Fortnight, FoodSave, Capital Bee and Sustainable Fish City. I The Jellied Eel is its quarterly magazine for good food.  www.londonfoodlink.org
• Growing Communities is a social enterprise run by local people in Hackney, east London, which operates an organic fruit and vegetable box schemes. Growing Communities’ work on Urban Food Routes is funded exclusively by the London Food Board. www.growingcommunities.org