Last week marked a significant milestone for food policy in Wales with the release of two important publications – the Future Generations Commissioner’s Annual Report and the Welsh Government’s Community Food Strategy – with the work of Food Cardiff featured as an exemplar case study in both documents.

The two publications emphasise the pivotal role of Local Food Partnerships like Food Cardiff in shaping Wales’ food future, and highlight the way that innovative initiatives like Welsh Veg in Schools, can harness the potential of public procurement in creating a more sustainable food system.

Alongside the two new policy reports, Food Sense Wales also published a Status of Local Food Partnerships report offering a snapshot of the current landscape and highlighting best practices across the 22 Local Food Partnerships in Wales, including the work of Food Cardiff.

You can watch a video of the Food Sense Wales Food Cardiff case study here.

As the first food partnership in Wales, Food Cardiff paved the way for Food Sense Wales which now works to support and nurture local food partnerships across Wales in partnership with Sustainable Food Places and Welsh Government.

In 2023, Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner published Cymru Can – a strategy for 2023- 2030 outlining his long-term vision and announcing the food system as his first area of focus. The Commissioner has since been working with Food Sense Wales, Public Service Boards and Public Bodies to integrate sustainable food policies into their well-being plans, with a particular emphasis on community food plans that foster change at a local level.

“It’s fantastic to see the Future Generations Commissioner’s report advocating for a host of food related actions, including the development of a National Food Resilience Plan; the continued support for Food Partnerships as well as further support for horticulture and Food Literacy,” says Katie Palmer, Founder and Head of Sense Wales.   

“The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner has put significant resources into food and we are aligning our work on Food Partnerships to support them as they develop advice to Public Bodies on Food. This work has been triangulated with Welsh Government’s Community Food Strategy, which has also been published today.

“Local Food Partnerships have been recognised in both the Commissioner’s report and the Community Food Strategy as a vital force for bringing together stakeholders, policies and initiatives, enabling local actors to work collaboratively to create and deliver a shared vision and strategy for a more sustainable, just, and resilient food system,” continues Katie.  

Read the Local Food Partnerships Status Report here and watch the associated films here.

You can also read the Welsh Veg in Schools report here.