Members of the public will have their say on the contents of England’s new food strategy as part of the government’s programme of engagement.
Defra has asked the Food Foundation and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) to gather the views of a diverse and representative group of citizens that will help shape the direction of the strategy.
These include the Food Foundation’s group of food ambassadors who each have experience of living with food insecurity, as well as citizens who participated in FFCC’s ‘The food conversation’. The two-year process recently culminated in the publication of ‘A citizen mandate for change’, which calls for a change in the way food is eaten, grown and produced in the UK based on the values of fairness, care, responsibility and localism.
The first phase of work will take place over the spring and summer of this year and involve workshops with citizens designed to test the comprehensiveness of the strategy, highlight gaps and focus on policy implementation issues and challenges. Further engagement will then be developed and led by the citizens involved.
Citizen engagement is just one plank of the government’s broad approach to developing its food strategy. It is also being advised by a food strategy expert group formed of industry leaders and other leading sector voices.
“The inclusion of citizens’ voices is a vital part of creating lasting change, durable policies and a better food system that works for everyone in society,” said Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation.
Sue Pritchard, chief executive of FFCC, added that the level of inclusion, transparency and ambition was very welcome. “It will ensure the food strategy reflects the everyday experiences and the aspirations of the British public, who – we know – want government to focus on food and its impacts on health and wellbeing, climate and nature.”
The development of a food strategy for England follows a UK-wide effort to push food up the political agenda including Scotland’s ‘Good food nation plan’, Wales’ ‘Future Generations Act’, and Northern Ireland’s ‘Food strategy framework’.
