Bristol aiming to be first UK Gold Sustainable Food City by 2020

By Topaz Maitland, Digital SciTech Editor

In the next year, Bristol aims to be the UK’s first Gold Sustainable Food City, which is why the city has recently launched their ‘Going For Gold’ campaign. Epigram SciTech attended a 'Going for Gold' breakfast, to find out more.

The Sustainable Food Cities Network is a national programme that promotes better food practise by encouraging communities to improve their approach to food. In 2016, Bristol became the second city in the UK to achieve Silver status, and now Bristol aims to be the first city to achieve Gold status.

Those who are already getting involved are very excited about the city achieving this goal. 'Bristol is Going for Gold because there is a collective energy calling for food that’s good for people, our planet and our city to be made available to everyone in Bristol,' a spokesperson from Going for Gold said.

There are six key areas where major improvements need to be made for Gold status to be achieved, including taking actions to buy better, eat better, reduce food waste, grow in the city, support the food community and promote food equality.

Individuals and Organisations taking part can register actions taken on the Going for Gold website. Already 85 actions have been taken by organisations and 214 actions taken by individuals supporting Going for Gold.

Sustainable Food Projects in Bristol

There’s plenty of food projects already underway in Bristol - here are just a few examples:

The event took place at Windmill Hill City Farm, which is a community farm in the heart of the city run by local residents. It's a surprisingly large area, and they serve most of what they grow in the cosy cafe, as well as running a daycare centre. They also run rehabilitation programmes for the most vulnerable members of the community, aiming to 'help people grow' by bringing them closer to the earth.

'Going for Gold' is supported by the Bristol Food Network which aims to support, inform and connect those working to make Bristol a sustainable food city. It's a great first stop for anyone who would like to get involved!

At the event, we also heard about the amazing work of Fareshare, which is the UK’s largest food waste redistribution charity. They take food which is perfectly in-date and good to eat that would otherwise be thrown away and re-distribute it to organisations including school canteens and homeless shelters. Last year they provided 'enough food for 46.5 million meals'.

How can you get involved?

There are many opportunities to volunteer or raise money and awareness to support your local community gardens, farms, or food redistribution schemes, so have a look around!

Spread the word by following the Going for Gold website or the Instagram account. There are also events run by the Going for Gold team and events run by Bristol Capital Partnership where you can meet and hear from people working on sustainable projects of all kinds across the city.

Featured Image Credit: Topaz Maitland

Have you taken part in any food sustainability projects recently? Let us know!