About Us

What is Food Newcastle?

Food Newcastle is a partnership of businesses, organisations and individuals with a passion, interest or remit around various aspects of good food. We are an independent non-profit movement that, through our expanding partnership, provides awareness encouraging others to share information and take action to create a healthier food culture in Newcastle upon Tyne whilst helping protect our planet.

Food Newcastle aims to become a sustainable food city by building networks, connecting with others and promoting good sustainable food to improve the quality of lives in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

What is Good Food?

‘Good Food’ underpins the quality of people’s lives in Newcastle. Not only is it essential to our survival but the way we eat it, buy it, grow it, transport it, and dispose of it has a profound impact on the city we live in. Food can change the landscape of our city, the strength of our economy, the health and wellbeing of our community, the environment as well as our culture and social lives. Promoting ‘Good Food’ is a powerful driver and must be embraced at the heart of any effort to improve people’s lives.

In Newcastle, like elsewhere, the challenges in the food system are many: rising obesity, food poverty, health inequalities, the impact of food production and distribution on climate change; and economic challenges for local food businesses. Addressing these challenges will require:

• Creating new and strengthening existing creative partnerships across organisational boundaries
• Enabling communities to be better equipped with the tools and confidence to take control of their own health and happiness
• The Food Newcastle Partnership and the wider food network to take a lead role

How are we aiming to become a sustainable food city?

Across the globe, communities at every scale have recognised the key role food can play in dealing with some of today’s most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges.

Sustainable Food Cities (a national partnership programme run by the Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain) identified 6 key issues to assist in development of sustainable food programmes.

We have based our local sustainable food programme on these 6 key issues. We are developing and expanding on these good food key themes to drive positive food change, transforming food culture and food system in Newcastle upon Tyne:

Theme 1: Diet related ill health and access to food

Theme 2: Good food for all – tackling food poverty

Theme 3: Building community food knowledge, skills, resources and projects

Theme 4: Strengthen the local food economy

Theme 5: Transforming Catering and Food Procurement

Theme 6: Environmental Sustainability – reducing food waste and the ecological footprint of the food system

The Newcastle Good Food Plan is a major step forward in building a stronger, more sustainable and diverse nutritional culture for the city’s 300,000 residents.

The plan, developed by the Food Newcastle Partnership – involving over 150 stakeholders – sets out the framework for developing a robust and healthier local food economy as well as improving access to more environmentally friendly and wholesome ingredients.