Agenda item

Gilly Brenner (Public Health Consultant) to present

Further to Minute No. 57 of 22^nd November, 2023, Gilly Brenner, Public Health Consultant, presented an update on the Rotherham Food Network with the aid of the following powerpoint presentation:-

The Network – Benefits

-        Membership of the Rotherham Food Network (RFN) continued to grow with up to 77 members receiving invites to the meetings representing 26 stakeholder organisations

-        Stakeholder workshop held end of April facilitating collaborative planning and supporting opportunities for organisations to link up

-        Links made into South Yorkshire Regional Food Partnership

-        Working as a ‘system’.  This was a broad scope which no organisation could take responsibility for alone

Bronze Award

-        The Sustainable Food Places Award was designed to recognise and celebrate the success of those places taking a joined-up holistic approach to food and achieving significant positive change on a range of key food issues

-        Evidence needed to cover the 6 key areas of governance, good food movement, healthy food for all, food economy, catering and procurement and food for the planet

Best practice from application

-        “This was a strong Bronze application showcasing an impressive body of work across the key issue areas.  A fantastic achievement to pull all this evidence together in the absence of a dedicated funded co-ordinator role”

-        “Efforts of the Council’s catering company is so great to see and we hope they continue with the Food for Life work”

What Next

-        Development of working groups

Food Growing

Healthy Eating

Food in Crisis

Commercial Food

-        Developing a food strategy (required for Silver)

-        Creating a brand for the network – creating more of a presence within the Borough

Risks and Issues

-        In other areas various partners/grants generally fund food partnerships

-        Partners have stretched capacity with competing priorities

-        Further work engaging and supporting local food businesses, farms and supply chains

Opportunities

-        Food Strategy – in partnership with members in the food network, a Food Strategy should

Build a broad understanding of the local context and local food culture and collect baseline data

Explore different perspectives on food issues, facilitate community participation and build representation

Share knowledge and build the food system through representative partnership structures and processes

-        Longer action plan (5 years) to align to Strategy and refresh of Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Discussion ensued on the presentation with the following issues raised/clarified:-

•         Once an Authority was awarded Bronze it did not lose it

•         What was the impact of having Bronze award on the health and wellbeing of people?

•         Whilst wishing to aspire to Silver, it had to be acknowledged that currently Public Health did not have the capacity to support the bureaucracy associated with the Sustainable Food Places Award scheme or develop a separate Food Strategy

•         There were no voluntary sector organisations that were primarily focussed on improving food structures in Rotherham whereas other cities had that infrastructure in place

The Chair asked that her thanks be passed onto the former employee, Kelsey Broomhead, for all her hard work on attaining the Bronze award.

Gilly was thanked for her presentation.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the achievements so far made within the Rotherham Food Network be acknowledged.

(2)  That the risks in progression to Silver without additional resources be acknowledged and that the offer steer as to future prioritisation for the network be noted.