Food Vale has launched the Vale Food Strategy 2025-2030 – a five-year plan to create a thriving, healthy, fair and sustainable local food system.

Made up of individuals, community groups, organisations and businesses, Food Vale was established in 2017 to tackle significant social challenges, from food poverty and diet-related ill-health to the struggles faced by local food producers and businesses.

Hosted within the Local Public Health Team at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, the partnership also includes representatives from the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), FareShare Cymru and Glamorgan Voluntary Services (GVS). Food Vale recently won a Sustainable Food Places Silver award in recognition for its achievements on a range of key food issues.

The new strategy aims to:

• Increase access to healthy food
• Reduce waste, protect nature and help tackle climate change
• Support communities to grow, cook and share good food

Louise Denham, Food Vale Coordinator, said: “Everyone should be able to access and enjoy nourishing food that supports their wellbeing.

“We want a circular food system that reduces waste, that protects nature, and that responds to the climate emergency.

“Our communities should have the tools, skills and spaces to grow, cook, and share good food.

“Through this strategy, we want to strengthen community leadership and ensure local people have a real voice in shaping their local food system.

“That involves listening to people’s experiences, increasing support for sustainable local producers and food enterprises and creating opportunities so that we can all prioritise food that is good for people and planet”

Food Vale is involved in a range of projects that help people grow and access food across the County and actively pursues funding to realise its aims.

More information on these initiatives can be found online at https://foodvale.org/