Brighton has won the first gold Sustainable Food City award

Brighton has been awarded the first Gold Sustainable Food City award and named the UK’s capital of food sustainability after the city showed it has many inclusive food groups and projects. The award was also given thanks to Brighton’s initiative of becoming the first to introduce a city-wide food strategy, also being the first city to introduce food growing spaces in new housing developments.

Brighton was the first to make the council commit to a good sourcing policy consisting of schools and care homes investing in buying sustainable, local, and fresh produce. It is clear that the focus is on providing a living wage, bans on single-use plastics, and having a focus on local suppliers. Many other cities have now introduced similar policies, such as Durham, Cardiff, Bristol and Middlesbrough.

In Brighton, the food web Food Partnership was set up in 2003 to link groups, helping to tailor people and projects to what the city’s locals need and want. Occasionally in Brighton you will find the Real Junk Food Project, they operate around the country and regularly visit Brighton with a pay-as-you-feel cafe.

The Bevy located in Brighton is the UK’s only zero-waste pub on a community estate. The community estate consists of a kitchen garden and regularly runs its meals on wheels service. They’re also in great connections with schools and deliver food to families with children who are part of the free school meals scheme.

This award really does show how great Brighton is at being eco-conscious and highlights the possibility of sustainability which should be implemented more widely.