This Halloween, Bristol is in for a treat: we can celebrate the launch of the Bristol Good Food Hub. The new online tool will help citizens and organisations find and access affordable and healthy food, cookery courses, and free child-friendly events and activities, alongside resources, news, and stories from around our city.
The hub, developed by Bristol Food Network with support of Bristol City Council, will bring together organisations and residents involved in Bristol’s thriving food scene to explore how we grow, buy, cook, eat and throw away food.
This has been made possible by The Bristol Good Food Partnership, a collection of organisations working together, behind the website, to deliver ambitious action plans which aim to make change across our whole local food system. Almost 30 organisations have helped develop the action plans including Feeding Bristol, Bristol Food Producers, University of Bristol, Resource Futures, Bristol Waste, The Community Farm, Square Food Foundation, Bristol Green Capital Partnership, and many more. Bristol Good Food is coordinated by Bristol Food Network, with the support of Bristol City Council.
The hub launches against the backdrop of the national cost-of-living crisis, with many people struggling with food insecurity and alongside the climate and ecological emergencies that we are tackling in our city. The hub focuses on making sure Bristol’s food systems work for communities, climate, and nature.
Food plays a key part of Bristol’s story and culture. It filled me with pride to see the unified city approach to getting food out to those who needed it during the pandemic. Seventy groups co-produced our Food Equality Strategy which was launched during Food Justice Week.
Our commitment to tackling food insecurity amongst young people is unwavering, and this half term we’re again providing vouchers to families that receive free school meals to help with school holiday hunger and rising living costs. We also continue to run our free Your Holiday Hub programme over the main school holidays where children attending are provided with nutritious meals and food education.
It was the collective bid from organisations and citizens that led to Bristol being the second UK city to win the Gold Food City award and the community groups that are growing peat-free vegetables and fruit to provide foodbanks from the Blaise Nursery plant donations.
Earlier this month, the Bristol Eating Better Award was relaunched and opened out to schools and early years settings across our city. This is part of our work towards ensuring more children have healthy, sustainable food.
Throughout October we’ve been encouraging citizens to try and choose low carbon foods, and dispose of food waste properly so it feels fitting to end the month with a celebration of the Bristol Good Food Hub. Please head on over to the hub and take a look at the latest news and events, and share your own food stories.