The call has come from the Sustainable Food Places Network, the organisation behind the partnerships, which is led by the Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain - the alliance for better food and farming. It is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
In a letter to Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the network says Local Food Partnerships have been working to transform their local food systems to improve public health and wellbeing; foster community connection and resilience; build prosperous and diverse local food economies; and tackle the sustainability issues of waste and climate change.
Not only that, but the letter says the partnerships are playing a pivotal role in driving and coordinating effective community food responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
It points to the partnerships’ action in Identifying very large numbers of people not formally recognised as clinically vulnerable - including those on low incomes, children eligible for free school meals and those needing to self-isolate due to older age or medical risks - and providing them with food, including freshly prepared meals.
It says they are also ‘signposting those in need to other sources of emergency food support via websites, social media pages and other communications channels and connecting and coordinating those diverse emergency food organisations and initiatives to ensure a more coherent joined-up response”.
They have also coordinated surplus food collection from businesses that have surplus and its delivery to organisations that can redistribute to those most in need, and many also now ‘actively engaging with the urgent need for effective local economic regeneration as we come out of the crisis, in which food businesses from across the supply chain will play a vital role’.
“However, there remain many areas where a lack of sufficient recognition and active collaboration is undermining community food responses to the crisis and preventing Local Food Partnerships from fulfilling their role in tackling social, economic and environmental food-related issues.
“There are also many areas where food partnerships do not currently exist. Sustainable Food Places has provided funding and support to its 60 members and will endeavour to continue to do so for these and the many new places interested in establishing a food partnership.
“We believe, however, that it is only through recognition, endorsement and support for Local Food Partnerships by Government that such partnerships can fully realise their potential.”
The letter concludes: “Establishing, mandating and supporting Local Food Partnerships in every municipal authority area would, we believe, make a huge contribution to effective coordination and delivery of short and medium term food responses to the current crisis while at the same time ensuring that integrated local food policies and strategies are in place to build food resilience and a healthy and sustainable food system in a post-Covid world.”