Launch of new community partnership gives Wigan Borough food for thought

Launch of new community partnership gives Wigan Borough food for thought

A new Wigan Borough Food Partnership was launched at The Edge earlier this week

A new borough-wide initiative is aiming to make healthy food cheaper and easier to buy in Wigan Borough.

Organisations and leaders from across the community were at The Edge near Wigan Pier this week for the launch of the brand-new Wigan Borough Food Partnership.

Pulling together expertise from the council, health services, local businesses, education, community groups, and the environmental and food sectors, the partnership has also made it its mission to reduce food waste and make the borough’s food supply more self-sufficient.

Councillor Keith Cunliffe, Wigan Council’s deputy leader and cabinet portfolio holder for adult social care and health, said: “We make lots of choices that affect our health, but we all need food - and the food we eat impacts not just our own health and wellbeing, but our economy, our environment and so much more.

“Here in Wigan Borough and across the UK, our current food system is contributing to some of our biggest challenges; such as obesity, ill-health, food poverty and waste.

“We’re already taking action as a council - with our ethical advertising policy - to promote healthier food and crack down on the way marketing companies aggressively target health-harming products to our communities; particularly children and young people.

“But it’s also essential we create the conditions that make healthier food easy, affordable and within reach of everyone.

“The fact is the price gap between healthy and less healthy food is the widest it’s been in over a decade, and the rising cost of living is making it harder for local people to put healthier food on their plate.

“We also live in an increasingly uncertain world in which global events can have a big impact on the cost and availability of food.

“No single organisation can respond to these challenges alone, which is why the launch of our new Wigan Borough Food Partnership is so important.

“From producers, suppliers and stores, to our schools, hospitals, food communities and many others, everyone has a role to play and even the smallest change can make the biggest impact.

“By working together, we can make Wigan Borough’s food system stronger and more resilient, and create a healthier and fairer future for all our residents.”

More than 55 organisations and groups were represented at the launch, including the NHS, the Obesity Health Alliance, charities including the Health Equalities Group, and local food communities such as The Brick and Fur Clemt.

As well as hearing insights into local and national food policy, regional developments, and local challenges and opportunities, the new collective also took its first steps towards making Wigan Borough an officially recognised ‘Sustainable Food Place’.

As part of a UK-wide Sustainable Food Places network, the borough aims to champion healthy, locally-produced food while increasing food security against global shocks and the rising cost of living.

Chandra Merai, co-director of nutrition and health advice charity the Health Education Trust and food policy advisor to the GMCA, said: “Sustainable Food Places makes healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of where people live.

“Good food means looking beyond an individual meal: at affordability, healthy choices, how food is produced and purchased, and what happens to food that is not eaten.

“The value of a network like the Wigan Borough Food Partnership is the opportunity to learn together, share experiences, build a collective voice, and combine our efforts to make healthy food an everyday reality for everyone in our communities.”

The wider community will also be able to influence the work of the Wigan Borough Food Partnership, with plans already being made for a series of roadshow events across the borough next year.

Residents and organisations will have the opportunity to share their views and experiences, and discover how they can play a part in making the borough’s food system healthier and more self-sufficient.

Cllr Cunliffe added: “This is very much just the start, and this first event has certainly given us plenty of food for thought!

“Now we want as many people as possible to join the conversation about what good food means to all of us, and how together we can build a good food movement here in Wigan Borough.”