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Keep in touch with the Food Alliance Blog - sign up here Follow on Instagram here, Facebook here Here's where you can see what's happening for good local food in Herefordshire. From local food events, through farming to food waste - we use the Sustainable Food Places topics so you can see the things you're interested in at a glance. Click on each one for more information or scroll down the most recent. Contact us to tell us what's going on in your part of the County and sign the food charter to add your voice! |
The Herefordshire Healthy Schools Programme and the Healthy Tots Programme provide templates for teaching, planning, tracking and monitoring the health and wellbeing of children and young people in primary and secondary schools and early years settings.
There are some great grants out there for creating gardens and nature spaces in your community! Here is a run down of what is available...
A huge thank you to Mark and Kitty and the team at Perrystone Farm for allowing us to bring the years 5 and 6 from Fownhope Primary school on 7th July.
Food Strategy
The Food Strategy Policy paper A UK government food strategy for England: Towards a Good Food Cycle: a UK government food strategy for England, considering the wider UK food system is available here: Read the full report here
Over the last two years, in 12 assemblies and now in community led conversations all around the UK, FFCC has brought together a diverse and representative group of people from all backgrounds, in a ‘gold standard’ process, to ask them: “So, what do we really want from food?”. Your voices have been heard too. Herefordshire citizens fed in through an HFA hosted Food Conversation back in Summer 2024 with Ledbury Food Group at Burgage Hall, Ledbury as well as in Bromyard last Autumn. Blog post here on Ledbury conversation.
The anouncement is broadly welcomed, as is the governments intention to join up government departments to tackle the complex and urgent reform of the food system.
However, it is disappointing to see so little representation from civil society, public health, environment, nature-friendly farmers, food partnerships and pioneers of local and regional action that will be so integral to a national Food Strategy's success.
Join Ledbury Food Group for Ledbury’s Celebration of Breakfast over the weekend of Friday 31st January, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd February – the 13th Ledbury Big Breakfast
17 local venues in and around Ledbury are taking part on one or more days in this event organised by Ledbury Food Group to celebrate our local food and drink producers and retailers and a healthy breakfast. The event takes place at cafes, pubs, hotels, butchers and delis in and around Ledbury.
After a break over Midwinter we are back on the road with Six Inches of Soil coming to Burgage Hall in Ledbury on Monday 27th January 6 - 9.30pm
We'll have delicious local food to eat, followed by the film and then into a Q&A with confirmed panel: James Marsden (Gregg's Pit Cider and Chair of Herefordshire Climate and Nature Partnership Board), Josh Davenport (Little Marcle Organic Produce) and Harvey Clay (Showle Dairy) with more TBC. Our chair is Patrick Wrixon - North West Herefordshire Farmer and chair of the NFU Members Association in the county and founder and chairman of The Cart Shed charity.
See you there!
We are recruiting! (Please note that this is a re-advertisement, deadline now 15th Jan 2025 and is based in Herefordshire)
Herefordshire Food Alliance, connector of all things food in Herefordshire, is recruiting a coordinator.
The Alliance is a broad network, instigating projects of its own (such as film showings, gleaning events, food conversations, good food database) and supporting other activity in the county towards good food - that supports people, nature and communities. The county has achieved a Bronze ‘Sustainable Food Places’ Award and the Alliance supports and shares information that will lead towards a Silver award in the next year.
A few opportunities to eat good food and share some community experiences this season...
From Talk Community - the Here for the Holidays Programme
"Our programme is free for all school aged children (reception to Year 11), who are eligible for benefit related free school meals. There’s a fantastic range of exciting indoor and outdoor activities to choose from. There will also be a healthy meal on offer at every session attended, so no need to bring a packed lunch."
More info here
Other Events throughout the Holidays are listed on the Talk Community Website . Christmas Day sees a community lunch at Bishops Frome Village Centre, and a Salvation Army Lunch - see below for details.
Would Food Alilance partners like to take up an offer for a small grant to run a great food event? Talk Commmunity WOW Grants are now open...
"We invite you to expand your current offer, and provide additional sessions or events to support residents who may be feeling the pinch throughout winter.
Your offer must include the opportunity for residents to come together, access a meal, engage in activities and receive information which can support them. The activity must be free of charge to enable access to everyone"
Check out our blog for ideas of events, from juicing to films... Always with food!
One example here
Through St Martin's Food Share - please let anyone know who could use!
3rd December
Basic Food Hygiene course – In person In Hereford, St Martin’s Church Hall. HR2 7RJ
9am – 4pm although times are a little bit flexible – but is a 6 hour course.
Event from Cambridge Global Food Security, University of Cambridge
"Ultra processed foods (UPFs) are increasingly identified as a key driver of the global obesity crisis that is threatening many of millions of lives.
So why do we consume UPFs in such huge quantities? Can we feed the world’s population sustainably without them? Could they be a necessary evil?
Ultraprocessed Foods (UPFs) exist thanks to industrial processes and international long-haul transport, which favour homogenous, uniformly packaged, ready-to-eat, long-life foodstuffs. Good for global supply chains and ‘big food’, but perhaps less than optimal for human health.
Our panel of leading experts including Dr Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People and Baroness Walmsley, Chair of the House of Lords Committee on Food, Diet and Obesity, will discuss:
Herefordshire Food Alliance is excited to, once again, be working in partnership with The Conquest Theatre, Bromyard to bring a ‘Food Conversation’ and Community Juicing Event to Bromyard.
The Food and Farming Commission’s Food Conversation says:
“A lot of people claim to know what ‘people’ think. They say, “people don’t want a nanny state” and “people choose to eat junk food” and don’t want to be told what to eat. But, has anyone ever actually asked you what you REALLLY want from food?
This is your opportunity to tell us. Join us at The Conquest Theatre between 11am
and 1pm on Saturday 16 November.
...In good local food in Herefordshire right now?
If you're reading this, you're either interested in or working towards good local food in Herefordshire. Please help us build a brilliant picture of all that's going on so that we can celebrate it, support it and do more of it!
It will take a very small amount of time and we're happy to receive your thoughts in any way - a quick note+ contact details, a document you already have, or a link.
Here's the form! You may see it below or click the link.
We are gearing up for our next showing of Six Inches of Soil as part of the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust's Apple Day Celebration at Queenswood Country Park Sunday 20th October. The whole day runs from 11am - 4pm with the film showing at 1pm - 3.30pm including Q&A with local farmer Rich Thomas who will give his reflections on the film and an insight into the joys and challenges of farming in Herefordshire.
Tickets for the film and Q&A are £7.50 and can be bought HERE on the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust's website.
From Rural Hub:
"With funding from the @countrysidefund, we are delivering the Farm for the Future programme through a series of business and environmental workshops aimed at supporting farmers and land managers/owners to navigate and take advantage of shifting agricultural policy.
Sign up to the programme now and learn more about the programme and event dates"
https://www.royalcountrysidefund.org.uk/how-we-help/family-farm-businesses/defra-future-farming/
From Growing Local - news of the Big Eat and regular lunch club, both below...
Our next Big Eat is on Saturday 28th September and we'll be cooking up an all-Herefordshire feast! Soups, chilli, jacket spuds, homemade bread rolls, crumble - all using our Growing Local veggies, plus any donations of locally grown fruit and veg - if you have any to donate please do drop off at the The Kindle Centre next week - thank you!.
Please do join us anytime from 10am until 2pm at the Big Eat. Lots of cooking (and washing up!) activities to take part in, plus a jumble sale, books, bric-a-brac, tombola etc.
A new report and webinar: quote and details below, here are some headlines.
‘Provide capital and revenue support to expand and enhance sustainable food partnerships and hubs across Wales from 2025-2035’
‘Universal access to a healthy diet – enabling everyone to access healthy and more sustainable food to address trends in diet-related diseases and poverty.’'
- Secure a just transition for farmers and growers with long-term financial support and extended tenancy agreements.
- Prioritise local, sustainably produced food through public procurement to develop local markets and distribution chains.
- Implement a land and marine use framework and national food strategy.
- Reduce the dominance of livestock production and incentivise growing a wider range of sustainable crops to replace imports.
- Enhance food literacy within the education system.
St Martin's Food Share in Hereford have a job going - please be in touch with them if this is something for you!
"St Martin’s FoodShare are delighted to receive central government funding to grow how we can help people. Over the next 6 months we will be working to increase the number of volunteers on our team, particularly in the areas of advice, support and signposting.
To help us deliver this program as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund we are looking to recruit a part time (13 hr/week) Capacity Builder (job share potential) for six months to drive the delivery of this project.
For more information and an application form please message us, email
A bit more info here:
Would you like to work with the Food Alliance to make the changes we need in our food system happen?
We are an alliance of hundreds, a steering team of thirty and a paid team of three very part-timers - for our capacity, we have quite a big reach!
We have plans across seven different topic areas in Herefordshire, and a huge number of partnerships to make and maintain - in order to make the shifts in our food system that we all so badly need.
We have volunteering roles across the county, and currently also have paid opportunities for freelance workers who have the skills, experience and passion needed to get some of our plans actioned!