Veg Cities is cooking!

What is the aim of Veg Cities?

The aim of Veg Cities is to increase the availability and consumption of vegetables. Food partnerships and/or local authorities can achieve this by working with seven different sectors, from retail and local markets to schools and local authorities. There are a host of different measurable actions we are encouraging cities to take within the following areas: 

• Promote veg through marketing work, public facing campaigns, challenges and competitions
• Improve access to veg through an increase in the lines available in retail, after school hours and to those particularly in need
• Promote growing, cooking and eating through support to community food growing and investment in training and skills
• Support local businesses through planning, business rate relief or other tools
• Transform catering and procurement by getting at least two portions of veg in every meal in local restaurants and caterers
• Reduce waste through monitoring, redistribution of surplus and roadshows, workshops and city-wide campaigns and initiatives.

Veg Cities is a feature campaign of Sustainable Food Cities led by food and farming charity Sustain in partnership with the wider Peas Please initiative led by the Food Foundation, Nourish Scotland, Food Cardiff and WWF. Peas Please aims to secure commitments from industry and government to improve the availability, acceptability (including convenience), affordability and quality of the vegetable offer in shops, schools, fast food restaurants and beyond, and in turn to stimulate increased vegetable consumption among the UK public, particularly children and those on a low income. Veg Cities will work as the local expression of this national project.

Download the Veg Cities Campaign Handbook

What is the link with #VegPower?
#VegPower is a national marketing campaign part of Peas Please. Veg Cities will tap into campaigns such as #VegPower or other parts of Peas Please, as well as supporting local public marketing campaigns.

On Thursday 3 May the Veg Power fund - a dedicated advertising fund to improve the image of vegetables for consumers using top marketing techniques and creative PR - will be launched.

If you want to know more or have experience you would like to share, get in touch with Sofia Parente, SFC Campaigns Coordinator at sofia@sustainweb.org

Sustainable Food Cities is a partnership programme run by Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain.

Grants Open 3rd May

The SFC Veg Cities Campaign Grants are open for applications until the 4th June. Find out more

Veg Cities Webinar

We held the first Veg Cities webinar on Wednesday 2nd May. Listen to the recording and view presentations for an overview of the campaign including the support and resources available to places wanting to join.