£268 billion.
… is the cost of poor diets to the UK economy, according to the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission. That’s not far off 10% of GDP.
Indicators for Lincoln show that dietary health here is worse than the national average, and the trends are going in the wrong direction.
Anyone serious about inclusive economic growth needs to take food very seriously!
What would mean for Lincoln to be conducive to dietary health?
It calls for a change in our food environment – for fresh, appetising, diverse foods to be readily available and accessible, and for good food culture a core characteristic of our remarkable city.
To put good food at the heart of our city, let’s first explore the edges… and Lincoln has a lot of edge – ready for a renaissance in market gardening on the urban fringe.
I’m talking about highly productive, small farms – 3-6 acres, growing a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, creating high quality, skilled jobs.
There will be opportunities for young people, through apprenticeships, work experience and educational visits.
There’ll be increased access to green spaces, therapeutic and social activities, and delicious place-making!
Connecting supply and demand
Of course, fresh produce doesn’t benefit from long journeys or periods of storage, so we’d need to infrastructure to get this fresh food into the city – a local food distribution hub – to serve households, restaurants and shops, school kitchens and college canteens, and most importantly: community kitchens and groceries.
It is imperative that the communities at the highest risk of poor health have priority access to the good food we can produce on our doorstep.
When we change food environments, we change food culture, we improve diets, we reduce health inequalities, we grow the real economy, and we enhance our beautiful city.
Want to be a part of it? Join us at the Food Summit: https://lincolnshirefoodpartnership.org/food-summit-2026/
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