As a partnership, the GLFP does not develop projects in an executive, singular way.
Rather it seeks to bring groups of people together with a common purpose, to achieve more than they might have done individually.
Its role is thus supportive, catalytic and contributory, seeking to make a more integrated local food system, consistent with its mission and aims.
In 2023, Masters research students from the University of Lincoln worked with the Food Partnership, who have contributed to a knowledge base benefitting the local food system in Lincolnshire:
Local Food Ecosystems
More to follow in 2023, starting with Open Food Network workshops for local producers
In the meantime – read the book (RRP is £19.95, but if you buy online it’s pay as you feel, and if you select Lincoln Food Hub at checkout, Duncan is kindly donating anything over £5 to developing this in Lincolnshire) – drop us a line if you’d like to be included on emails.
A Lincoln Food Ecosystem
Duncan’s report into the prospect of creating a local food ecosystem in Lincoln
“The ‘Local Food Ecosystem’ is a new concept in food supply chain coordination which conforms to a new and more forward-thinking economic model.
It is founded upon principles such as balance, wholeness, circularity, diversity and interconnectivity, resulting in a food system which is less wasteful, more equitable, much kinder to our planet, much better for citizens in terms of the quality and healthiness of the food we get to eat, which nurtures food entrepreneurism to create vibrant local food economies, and which is, in every sense of the word, sustainable.”
Duncan Catchpole
Research on Food Hubs
by Food Partnership founder, Prof Nigel Curry
Economic performance in rural systems: Social collision theory and its application to rural community food hubs – Curry 2022
Becoming a Volunteer: first impressions of volunteering in community food projects – Curry 2022
Community development and community food in Lincolnshire, UK: The limitations of neoclassical economics – Curry 2022
The Future of Wheat
Conversations exploring the evolution and future of wheat in a changing climate, hosted by LIAT. Discussions including grain diversity, resilience, commodity and non-commodity grain systems, and the role of technology. Conversations with farmers, millers, bakers, researchers.
Next event in 2023 – get in touch if you’d like to be invited or find out more: Laura@lincolnshirefoodpartnership.org
Food for the Planet
We are championing the Food for the Planet framework for local authorities, businesses and individuals – to put more sustainable, local food on the tables of Lincolnshire, including less & better meat, Fair Trade, reducing waste and sourcing locally.
The Feeding Tariff
The principle of the ‘Feeding Tariff’ is simple. We are installing solar panels on rooftops, and using the income from the electricity generated, to cover revenue costs of food poverty projects and community food growing projects.
We have agreement to site these
panels on a number of buildings (for example at the University of Lincoln) and we are working in partnership with Grimsby Community Energy (who will manage them) and Community Asset Plus (who will help us raise the finances for the panels) to make these installations as widespread as possible. The possibilities are endless.
The project is explained more fully in the Feeding Tariff Brochure which can be downloaded here:
Do contact us if you would like us to consider your building for panels and/or if you would lie to contribute to their cost.
Mint Lane Café:
Saving the Building Through Community Purchase
In seeking to secure its future as a community resource, we have been working with all of the users of the Mint Lane well-being centre (which includes 10 mental health self-support groups) to buy the building to reduce its overhead costs.
Working together, we have been awarded £185,000 from the National
Lottery and have had a successful community share offer raising over £60,000.
We have now bought the building from Lincolnshire County Council,
and with some funds for infrastructure and refurbishment, we will be improving the Café facilities (for example, a walk in freezer) which will improve the Cafe’s offer, and potentially allow the sharing of resources with other food groups in the City (such as the Food Banks) in order to tackle food poverty.
Nourishing Lincoln
With departure from the EU, European funding for regional and social development, and agriculture (collectively known as the Structural Funds) will disappear. It is intended that this is replaced by a Shared Prosperity Fund, administered by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership with the national objective to “reduce inequalities between communities”. GLLEP has asked for bids to go into a ‘pipeline’ for these funds, so that we are ready to go as a County, when the fund becomes live.
The Nourishing Lincoln bid has been judged one of the strongest ‘longer term projects’ received in the call. In short it is a project in which the Lincoln Food Partnership has ‘glued’ together a number of food projects into a food system for the City.
Edible Lincoln Festival
On the growing side, we propose that the City Centre adopts an ‘Edible Lincoln’ festival, where public spaces are set over to food – fruit trees as well as vegetables and salads.
The University open spaces will be instrumental in this. It will be educational: schools will be encouraged to develop ‘wheelbarrow gardens’ that can be wheeled into town for judging; eateries will be able to pick produce for immediate use in their meals; the public will see food growing outside of agricultural spaces.
Educating Our Food Taste
The education theme extends in to the second project in the suite, ‘Educating our Food Taste’ which is to roll out a programme of food understanding in primary schools throughout the County termed Taste Ed, central to the national Food for Life programme.
Tackling Food Waste & Food Poverty
The third project, ‘Tackling Food Waste and Food Poverty’ proposes the development of a central City Food Hub to collect all food ‘surpluses’ from retail, processing and even farms in and around the City, to develop a number projects to help those in food poverty and create employment (through food preparation and distribution) for those furthest from the job market.
The Food City in The Food County
The linkages in this ‘system’ are obvious – fresh food from the City centre to the food hub, education across all three projects – and if you are coming to see the ‘Food City’ as a tourist, a visit to the ‘waste food’ café is likely to be on your agenda.
If you want more information about his project or would like to elect to participate, do contact us.
Map of Foodbanks in Lincolnshire
To help you find you nearest foodbank, community larder or affordable cafe, we’ve created this map – whether you need to want to volunteer, to donate or request help for yourself or someone in your community.
Incredible Edible in Lincolnshire
Incredible Edible is all about galvanising communities through food. We’re seizing winter lockdown as an opportunity to host a series of online events – to encourage Lincolnshire people to share, imagine and plan the growing spaces that we’d like to create in 2021… Find out more here, and get involved – if you eat, you’re in!
Social Responsibility
Contributing to Lincoln City Council’s policy
The Lincoln Food Partnership has been working with Lincoln City Council to embrace ‘food responsibility’ within its Social Responsibility Charter. The aim of the Charter is to encourage organisations in Lincoln to undertake socially responsible activities which benefit both their employees and the local community.
Socially responsible activities in general in the Charter can be fond here.
Those that the LFP has had accepted into the Charter, relating to food, are:
- Environment: Reducing food waste
- Community: Food Bank collection/donation
- Community: Redistributing Food surpluses
- Resources: Promotion and/or use of Fairtrade products
- Health: Active policies for healthy food
- Health: Encouragement of healthy eating
The Charter sets out guidelines about the extent to which different kinds of organisation should be undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility.
National Food Strategy
In June 2019, The Secretary of State in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned Henry Dimbleby to conduct and independent review to help the Government create its first National Food Strategy for 75 years.
The purpose of the review is to address the environmental and health problems caused by our food system, to ensure the security of our food supply, and to maximise the benefits of the coming revolution in agricultural technology.
As part of this process, the Dimbleby Review issued a call for evidence and this call closed on 25 October 2019. The Lincoln Food Partnership made a formal submission to the review and this can be found LFP response:
Recent news from our blog
The Role of Foodbanks
By the end of 2024 it is estimated that between 1 and 2 million UK households will come off ‘fixed rate’ mortgage deals, while at the same time, rents are rising and the increase in cost of essential items continues to outpace what we earn; this is about to put an even greater number of…
Food as a public good
We were waiting anxiously in hospital with our 6 year old. He was in considerable pain, and not allowed to eat or drink while he awaited an emergency operation to have his appendix out. Grateful to be offered a bed in the children’s ward, we browsed the large and attractive wall posters as we waited,…
Welcome to Chris Haydon!
We’re really pleased to have Chris Haydon join us from this week (Feb 12th) to help out with administering across the range of Partnership projects. I asked Chris about his thoughts on the role on day one… “As you know, I’ve been a supporter of the work the Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership do in the…
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