1. Actively support Liverpool’s Good Food Plan  

Liverpool’s Good Food Plan addresses key issues related to the food we eat in Liverpool, including food insecurity; access to and take-up of healthy, nutritious food; the impact the food we eat is having on the planet; and the practices by which the food we eat is produced. 

Launched in 2021, the Plan has five key goals:  

• Goal 1: Good Food at points of crisis  
• Goal 2:  Uncovering the true scale of food insecurity  
• Goal 3:  Enabling food citizenship  
• Goal 4:  Shifting policy and practice  
• Goal 5: Connecting the Community 

Make a pledge: Our city is made up of businesses, organisations, charities and residents who are passionate about Good Food for all. To make real changes, we all need to come together to create a Good Food movement – small changes can make a big difference. Residents, charities, organisations and businesses are encouraged to make a pledge committing their support for the plan. Current pledges include:  

• Pledges from Residents – Feeding Liverpool  

• Pledges from Charities and Community Groups – Feeding Liverpool 

• Pledges from Businesses and Organisations – Feeding Liverpool 

Join a working group: Members are also encouraged to, where possible, join and support the work of Good Food Plan working groups. Current working groups include:  

• The Way Ahead – This is facilitated by Feeding Liverpool – in partnership with St Andrews Community Network and Imagine If – to explore the long-term sustainability and direction of emergency and community food provision in the region. To join The Way Ahead mailing list, please email [email protected]

• Healthy Start – This is chaired by Public Health to encourage the uptake of Healthy Start and similar projects in the city. Email [email protected] for more details.  

• The Good Food Community Advocacy and Policy Group – This is co-chaired by Food Active and Feeding Liverpool. It meets on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, with all gatherings advertised via the Feeding Liverpool mailing list.  

Support Good Food campaigns: Feeding Liverpool supports campaigns that are working towards good food for all. Find out more about this work: Campaigns – Feeding Liverpool 

Publicize your support: Feeding Liverpool will provide members with the Good Food Plan logo, which can be used on your website, socials and appropriate publicity. We also encourage all members to support and promote the work of existing good food projects, tell us about the good food projects they are involved with and/or start a new project working towards Good Food for All.  

2. Provide ‘good food’ at points of crisis  

The first goal of the Good Food Plan is to provide Good Food at points of crisis. Feeding Liverpool will work alongside members towards the following aims: 

• People in crisis can access appropriate support quickly and easily. 
• The food offered is healthy and nutritious, appropriate to the health, cultural and religious needs of the communities you work in and does not have a detrimental effect on the planet (see good food procurement principles).  
• Holistic support is offered alongside emergency food provision so that we are tackling the root causes of food insecurity and eradicating people’s long-term reliance on emergency food provision. 
• Putting dignity at the heart of all food support activities, including through providing opportunities for people with direct and relevant experience to contribute and be involved in decision making where possible; creating a welcoming and inclusive space where people are treated as individuals rather than generic clients or customers; using appropriate language when referring to the people accessing support; and, when operationally possible, providing a choice of food items.  

Members are also encouraged to undertake Feeding Liverpool’s Community Healthy Start Champion’s training and promote The Healthy Start Scheme at their venue.  

Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like promotional material.  

3. Adopt the Good Food Procurement Principles  

Creating a vibrant, prosperous and diverse sustainable food economy is at the heart of the Good Food Plan.  

Feeding Liverpool’s members are encouraged to adopt the Good Food Procurement Principles when purchasing food:  

• Buy local and independent: This means supporting ‘short supply chains’ – which both reduce the carbon footprint of products and ensure this funding supports the local economy. 
• Support organisations that enable fair employment: Purchase from suppliers who pay their workers at least the Real Living Wage. To find out more visit: www.livingwage.org.uk. A list of accredited Real Living Wage suppliers can be found at www.livingwage.org.uk/accredited-living-wage-employers although this does not constitute a complete list of suppliers who pay the Real Living Wage.  

• Encourage good health and wellbeing: Prioritise purchasing food which encourages good health and wellbeing, supporting people to eat a healthy, balanced diet. For more information, visit www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/the-eatwell-guide/   

Looking for inspiration to put these principles into practice? More information is available here: INSERT  

As part of the activity of The Way Ahead working group, over the next six months the group will be piloting approaches, including bulk purchasing across the Feeding Liverpool Networks and discounts with local suppliers.  

Members will be entitled to any ‘Feeding Liverpool’ discounts secured with suppliers.  

4. Stay connected through our events and newsletters  

We encourage all Feeding Liverpool members to regularly send a volunteer or staff member to Feeding Liverpool network events, including our quarterly Emergency Food Network gatherings. Members will get opportunities to share at these events and shape the agenda of future events and gatherings. All upcoming events can be found on our website: Events – Feeding Liverpool.  

Join the Feeding Liverpool mailing list for twice-monthly updates, including upcoming events, funding opportunities, vacancies and news stories: we encourage Feeding Liverpool members to share these updates with colleagues and relevant partner organisations. Please send any events, funding opportunities, vacancies or news stories to be included in our newsletters to [email protected]  

5. Share your work with a wider audience  

Feeding Liverpool members can be named on our website, where you can share details about your work and your contact information.  

Members will also get the opportunity to share what they do at our regular events and network gatherings. This enables members to learn from each other and make new partnerships and connections.  

Community Food Spaces are also encouraged to be listed on our Community Food Space map to enable residents to easily find your organisation. We will check with you regularly to ensure that this information is up to date.