Marches project secures £1.4m to help local communities shape the future of food
Updated: 4 days ago
People across the Marches – in Shropshire, Monmouthshire, Herefordshire and Powys are being invited to help shape a stronger, greener and more resilient local food system through a major new project backed by over £1.4 million in National Lottery funding.
Marches Food Systems for the Future has received £1,458,193.85 from the Climate Action Fund, a long-term commitment from The National Lottery Community Fund that supports communities across the UK to take action on climate change and engage more people in positive environmental action.
The project is led by Marches Food Partnership, a collaboration between Shropshire Good Food Partnership, Monmouthshire Food Partnership, Bwyd Powys Food – Cultivate and Herefordshire Food Alliance, with Monmouthshire County Council acting as the lead accountable body.
Bringing together local people, farmers, food businesses and community organisations, the project will support practical, locally led action that strengthens food resilience, reduces carbon emissions and creates stronger connections between producers and consumers.
Over the coming years, communities across the Marches will have opportunities to develop projects that reflect local priorities and needs. These could include community growing and cooking initiatives, composting and food waste reduction schemes, shared meals, farm visits and activities that help more people access and support locally produced food.
The project came about through collaboration between the Marches Food Partnerships over the last 4 years. Our rural counties face similar challenges, so we organise regular "Convergence" events to share ideas. These bring farmers, community organisers and policy makers together to share challenges and solutions and showed how valuable a Bioregional scale partnership would be.
Cllr Alex Wagner, Deputy Leader of Shropshire Council said "This is great news for Shropshire and the wider Marches. Bringing farmers, communities and local partners together gives us a real opportunity to strengthen our local food system, support our rural economy and turn good ideas into practical action. It is such good news that Shropshire communities will be part of it.”
Daphne Du Cros , Partnership Lead for Shropshire Good Food Partnership said:
“This project offers an exciting opportunity to create a better food system for Shropshire and our neighbours in the Marches. As the project develops, there will be opportunities for communities, farmers, producers and local organisations in Shropshire to get involved, share ideas and shape local action. By working together across the Marches, we can turn local ideas into practical action, share what works and make our region more resilient.”
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