North Lancashire Goes Gold

This prestigious recognition celebrates North Lancashire’s ambitious and inspiring efforts to transform its local food system, ensuring food is healthier, fairer, and more sustainable for everyone who lives there. 

With this award, North Lancashire joins Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge, Middlesbrough, Aberdeen and Oxfordshire as the only other places to achieve Gold. The Sustainable Food Places Awards are the UK’s only place-based award scheme recognising outstanding leadership and impact in creating participatory sustainable food systems. 

The Sustainable Food Places assessors were particularly struck with three elements of North Lancashire’s gold application: 

1. Building a food movement that enables diverse communities and sectors to participate 

North Lancashire's Food Circles connect food clubs with community growing spaces, kitchens and local organisations, creating opportunities for people to grow, cook, volunteer, learn skills and build relationships. Building on their Food Ladders approach, FoodFutures is helping people move from accessing affordable food towards greater participation, confidence and opportunities to lead activities in their communities. 

Through its Pots of Possibility fund, FoodFutures and local partners Lancaster District CVS and Shared Future CIC, have distributed £250,000 to support community-led food projects, from growing food to sharing resources. Local people, including young people, are involved in deciding which projects receive funding, giving communities real influence over how investment is used. 

2. Joining up food justice with a stronger local food economy 

When local food clubs struggled to access reliable supplies of fresh produce, FoodFutures partners piloted an approach that purchases food directly from local growers for distribution through community food clubs. The £10,000 pilot explored how access to fresh, healthy food could be improved while creating new opportunities for local farmers. 

Through LESS, a key FoodFutures partner, more than £330,000 has been invested in Summerhouse Community Farm, helping secure land for agroecological food production, training and community involvement. Alongside initiatives such as FarmStart, this is helping create opportunities for new growers to develop the skills and experience needed to produce food locally.  Access to land for productive market gardening and questions about land ownership are key to North Lancashire's approach 

3. Building relationships and infrastructure that make change last 

FoodFutures helped bring together organisations working to tackle food insecurity across Lancaster District, supporting the development of the Lancaster District Food Justice Partnership. Through years of relationship-building, coordination and shared purpose, the partnership has grown into an independent charity, securing more than £71,000 in its first year to strengthen food justice work. 

It remains closely connected to FoodFutures, while having its own identity, leadership and ability to attract resources and take action. 

FoodFutures worked with Lancaster City Council to review allotment provision across the district, identifying demand, opportunities and challenges. The evidence helped secure council investment in a dedicated Allotment Development Officer, who is now connecting allotment groups, supporting shared learning and strengthening community growing. The work is also informing planning policy, helping create opportunities for food growing in future housing developments. 

Chloe Smee, programme lead for Sustainable Food Places said: “Sustainable Food Places is delighted to award North Lancashire a Gold Award - only the eighth place in the country to achieve this badge of honour.   

“Across the Sustainable Food Places network, we’re learning from North Lancashire’s example: how patient, collaborative work can help good ideas take root in communities and grow into lasting change that creates a food system that is healthier for everyone.”  

This work reflects the hard work of a huge network of individuals and organisations, all working together to make meaningful, lasting change. 

Jamie Murphy, chair of FoodFutures North Lancashire, said:

“This is such an amazing achievement and a tribute to all the hard work from everyone involved in our partnership. 

“The Sustainable Food Places assessors rightly pointed out the accessible nature and diversity of the communities that make up our partnership, and it’s been a pleasure to work alongside many of them".  

Paul Hart, Lancaster City Councillor and cabinet member for Environmental Services described the award as a “remarkable accomplishment”. 

North Lancashire’s success is a powerful example for other places across the UK of what genuinely participatory, thoughtful, regenerative food systems change looks like.  Their approach builds deep roots for a more just, resilient local food system which builds on diverse local strengths. 

We offer our warmest congratulations to FoodFutures and to all of the incredible people and organisations behind this achievement. 

Check out FoodFuture's website 

Read more about North Lancashire's 10 year strategy