The food we eat has a huge impact on life in Cardiff – not just on people’s health, but on communities and businesses, farmers and food producers, and the environment too.
Good food creates strong, healthy, resilient communities. You can be part of that – working together with others in your community to shape the local food system.
Food is a great way to bring people closer together – through sharing food and recipes, cooking together and taking part in events, you can also learn new skills in growing, cooking and nutrition.
There are lots of food events and activities across the city that you can get involved in. Every year, Edible Cardiff runs an annual festival of growing throughout Cardiff, helping people to access plants, seeds and the skills they need to grow food at home. That’s a great place to start. If you want to get more involved, search for events in your own neighbourhood – lots of places now have events like community suppers or pop-up markets. And Food for Life Get Togethers has funding and resources available for groups to set up events and activities. You can also join a Food Cardiff network gathering as a way of finding inspiration and support from others.
If you want to take it up a step, why not think about starting your own event as a way to share what you know and love about food with people in your community? Food Cardiff has set up a scheme to support people to do just that called Good Food Neighbourhoods. You could be running your own community food events which could even be rolled out across the city.
If you’re running a business, one of the best ways to connect with the community is by working with ethical local suppliers. Cardiff has a growing number of social enterprises and not-for-profits in the food sector. Spending with them means your money is not just supporting a local supplier, but also funding their social mission – whether that’s supporting refugees, funding community facilities or helping people in need to access food.
We’re all part of a community, wherever we are in the city – and together, through food, we can make those communities and connections even stronger.
