Issue - meetings

Sam Dyer CEO of Cambridge Sustainable Food (CSF) attended North Area Committee to give an overview of what Cambridge Sustainable Food was all about:

i.               About — Cambridge Sustainable Food

ii.             Cambridge Sustainable Food had been in existence since 2013 and their work focused on partnerships, projects and campaigns that captured the imagination and helped to deliver change in Cambridge and the surrounding area.

iii.            Had achieved a Silver Sustainable Food Places award and was working towards a Gold award.

iv.           Key issues they worked on:

a.    Food which was good for us and was good for the planet and our future.

b.    Good food governance and action.

c.    Active food citizenship.

d.    Tackling food poverty.

e.    Sustainable food economy.

f.     Revitalising local supply chains.

g.    Climate and nature emergency. 

v.             Noted a number of community food projects which took place in the north of Cambridge. 

vi.           To view the presentation please follow the following link: (3) North Area Committee - Thursday 7 September 2023, 6.30pm - YouTube

In response to comments made by the Committee, the CSF Representative said the following:

      i.         Councillors could help by representing CSF at council meetings, supporting the partnership, volunteering and attending events.

    ii.         The CSF conference was due to take place at the beginning of October 2023. Over 100 people were due to attend but people could still register to attend. The theme of the conference was food justice and health.

   iii.         In response to a question about social supermarkets, commented that there were a lot of projects set up during the covid pandemic to address the need of food. Noted that during the pandemic there had been lots of funding available to do this. Since then, community groups had found that it was economically unviable to continue to give food away for free. This is where the ‘social supermarket’ concept arose.  Community groups charged a small amount, which could be per bag or per item, so that people were able to access food. Noted that there was a number of different charging models used by different groups.

  iv.         If anyone wanted to donate pet food suggested that they made contact with the CSF distribution centre.

    v.         Noted that there were some raised beds being used to grow community food at Daily Bread and Arbury Court.