The city of Cardiff has been awarded Silver Sustainable Food Places status – becoming the first place in Wales (and one of only six places in the UK) to achieve the prestigious accolade, which recognises pioneering work in promoting healthy and sustainable food.

Three TUCO members - Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University and University of South Wales, helped to contribute to the bid.

Cardiff, along with Cambridge, have both been newly awarded Silver status, joining Middlesbrough; the Greater London Authority; Bristol and Brighton & Hove in achieving a Silver Sustainable Food Places award.  Brighton & Hove and Bristol have since gone on to achieve Gold status, with hopes that Cardiff will follow suit in future.

WHAT IS THE SUSTAINABLE FOOD PLACES AWARD SCHEME?

The Sustainable Food Places Award Scheme recognises the most sustainable food places in the UK, and is based on achievements across six key issues:

1.       Taking a strategic and collaborative approach to good food governance and action.

2.       Building public awareness, active food citizenship and a local good food movement.

3.       Tackling food poverty, diet related ill-health and access to affordable healthy food.

4.       Creating a vibrant, prosperous and diverse sustainable food economy.

5.       Transforming catering and procurement and revitalizing local and sustainable food supply chains.

6.       Tackling the climate and nature emergency through sustainable food and farming and an end to food waste.

The work in Cardiff is co-ordinated by Food Cardiff, the city’s rapidly growing food partnership which has evolved into a dynamic, strong and inclusive network of good food activists. Food Cardiff, which is hosted by Cardiff and Vale Public Health Team, now includes 127 individuals across 74 organisations and has a strategy board that includes a range of members, including Cardiff Council, Cardiff & Vale University Health Board, Wrap Cymru, Riverside Real Food, Public Health Wales, Action in Caerau and Ely as well as many others.