Many thanks to Claire Pritchard from the Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency for this guest post:
Earlier this year GCDA applied for Greenwich to become one of the pioneering UK Cities to lead the Sustainable Cities programme. Along with Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Carlisle and 7 others Greenwich hope to be one of the first group of cities to achieve Sustainable Food City Status.
Greenwich has been developing pioneering work for at least the last 12 years with the Greenwich Community Food Initiative (the then GPCT now public health and GCDA) and the development of Greenwich Community Food Co-op, Growing Greenwich (GCDA) and the establishment of over 100 food growing sites, a Taste of Heath (Public Health) – an extensive cookery club programmes, Eat Better, Start Better early years food standards and GS Plus, RBG own school meals provider achieving Food for Life status and joining the London Group Contract.
Today GCDA and Public Health (RBG) co-ordinated the first Greenwich Sustainable Food Workshops to explore how to further develop and expand this work across a wider partnership throughout Greenwich.
This project will provide individuals, communities, third sector, public and private sector institutions at every scale an opportunity to explore and capture the key role food can play in dealing with some of today’s most pressing social, economic and environmental problems. From obesity and diet-related ill-health to food poverty and waste, climate change and biodiversity loss to declining prosperity and social dislocation, food is not only at the heart of some of our greatest problems, but also a vital part of the solution.