Strengthening the UK’s Food Resilience

Sustainable Food Places welcomes the publication of ‘Just in Case: 7 Steps to Narrow the UK Civil Food Resilience Gap’, a timely and essential report by Professor Tim Lang for the National Preparedness Commission (NPC). This report outlines critical actions needed to address the UK's food security vulnerabilities and highlights the lack of a robust food resilience plan—something our European neighbours, the USA, and many other nations already have in place.

Professor Lang’s report underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive UK food policy and stronger government accountability in ensuring food security during crises. His 15 recommendations include:

• Establishing a coherent UK food policy with a legal obligation on the state to feed the public in emergencies.
• Shifting from a Just-in-Time to a Just-in-Case food distribution model to improve crisis preparedness.
• Taking account of local conditions including community audits of food assets and local infrastructure.
• Incorporating local food service and other food providers into emergency food provision.
• Strengthening local food resilience through risk registers, stockpiling research, and civil society engagement.
• Forming Civil Food Resilience Committees at local level, building on existing local food policy ‘councils’, ‘boards’ and networks.
• Developing regional and local food resilience initiatives, with support from metro mayors and devolved governments.
• Encouraging knowledge exchange between towns, cities, and institutions.

Sustainable Food Places, through its network of 114 food partnerships across UK local authorities, is already implementing many of these recommendations. These partnerships—cross-sector and systems-focused—have proven their resilience during the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, demonstrating their effectiveness in supporting communities and managing food-related emergencies (see the research here).

Our members operate in cities, counties, and regions, providing peer-to-peer support and ensuring best practice sharing. They are also well-positioned to coordinate government funding at the local level, as seen in Wales, where food partnerships have been supported for two years with clear impact (see the research here). This model is ready to be replicated nationwide.

SFP functions as a “network of networks,” highly connected and resilient—akin to the internet, with no single point of failure. This decentralized structure enhances local adaptability and responsiveness, making it an ideal model for national food resilience planning.

With key policies such as the National Preparedness Commission, the National Food Strategy, the Land Use Framework, and various health and obesity strategies converging this year, it is imperative that these initiatives are aligned. Sustainable Food Places and our members excel at navigating complex systems and are ready to support national engagement and delivery.

A Call to Action: Let’s Build a Food-Secure Future Together

We are ready to take this to the next level. If every local authority had a food partnership, the UK’s food resilience would be significantly stronger. We know what this takes, we understand the investment required, and we have seen the success firsthand. We urge the UK government and the National Preparedness Commission to recognize and invest in this proven model. The time to act is now. By working together, we can build a future where our communities are food-secure, no matter what challenges arise.