Sustainable Food Cornwall

Sustainable Food Cornwall is an alliance of people and organisations across public, private & voluntary sectors and in communities throughout Cornwall working to make our food system fairer, more regenerative, resilient and adaptive. Our vision is Good Food for One and All.

We work to improve practical and strategic collaboration across sectors, supporting efforts to: regenerate soils and seas, improve health, skills and access to food and to rebalance food surplus, eliminating food waste and ending food insecurity.

Our working groups are overseen by an Interim Steering Group including members from NFU Cornwall, Camel CSA, Volunteer Cornwall, Cornwall AONB, University of Exeter, Cornwall Food & Drink, Tamar Grow Local, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly LEP & Employment Skills Board, CLA, Cornwall Council Public Health & Economic Development, Cornwall Fish Producers Organisation, Cornwall Food & Farming and Cornwall Food Access Alliance, along with farmers, gleaners and food businesses.

We're currently inviting new members to our steering group, and developing new working groups.

What we do

Our current priorities are to amplify and build on existing work in Cornwall to improve:

  • Food in schools
  • Access to land for, and development of, community growing (see our report at Resources | Sustainable Food Cornwall)
  • Support for farmers, growers and food producers of all types and sizes to adopt nature-positive and climate-friendly practices, and to be fairly rewarded 

An informal Partnership was first established within a systems leadership programme led by Cornwall’s Director of Public Health, evolving to become an inclusive, grass-roots and community-led collective. It gave rise to the ESF Food for Change programme, working with foodbank users to give them improved access to food, food-skills and life opportunities. And as Kernow Food Collective, it linked into initiatives including FoodPower, SugarSmart, Feeding Britain and Slow Food. 

In 2021, consultation with a broad range of food system stakeholders resulted in a study of the ways forward for a sustainable food strategy for Cornwall and in May 2022 the current Partnership's Interim Steering Group was convened.

We joined Sustainable Food Places in summer 2022 and our Coordinator was recruited in spring 2023. We are now implementing new governance arrangements. 

Membership of our Partnership is open to any organisation or individual committed to our vision and aligned with the good food values enshrined in our Food Charter.