Farmer Connections: A partnership approach

Farmer Connections: a partnership approach

The connection between the farming community and wider communities has often been weak. For the food system to meaningfully change to an agroecological model all communities and stakeholders need to work together towards a shared vision.

A number of Sustainable Food places members and our partners have sought to bridge that gap using a partnership approach. That is by convening relevant stakeholders and facilitating a space where fruitful dialogues can happen. This approach is also a successful methodology to support peer-to-peer conversations and best practice sharing with farmers.

Nourish Scotland have supported Fork to Farm Local dialogues and SFP runs a county network in England. What have we learned from them? What are the elements that constitute best practise? How is best to engage farmers locally? How can farmers best engage their communities? Open and honest dialogues are the first steps on this journey to build understanding and trust.

Our Speakers:

Chris Walker

Chris coordinates the Sustainable Food Places network of 80+ food partnerships across the UK.  Chris lives in Leicester and when he’s not working, he enjoys gardening and making a mess at the allotment with his young daughter.

Nourish Scotland

Nourish Scotland work for a fair, healthy and sustainable food system that truly values nature and people. They take a systems approach to food and champion an integrated approach to solving the big challenges of the current food system.

Gavin Fletcher

Gavin Fletcher is  the coordinator of Good Food Leicestershire and has worked in the environmental and sustainability sector since 2001 for the third sector and also across Local Authorities and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership. My Public Health based allows him to explore the links between food, sustainability and health and well-being.

Jenny Rouquette

Jenny is a leader in food systems thinking with a wealth of experience in regenerative land use, rural livelihoods and inclusive business. She is the founding director of Shropshire Good Food Partnership which brings people together to create a food system that is good for people, place and planet. Jenny is a natural networker and she has created collaborative initiatives in her work in the UK as well as Africa, Asia and South America, in both non-profit and for-profit sectors.

Abi Mordin

Abi is a founder member of Propagate and a seasoned food activist. She has been working across community and local food projects for over 20 years, and is passionate about food sovereignty and resilience. An experienced grower, facilitator, practitioner and researcher - Abi's inclusive and collaborative attitude encourages everyone to be involved in thinking about and co-creating sustainable food systems. Abi live in Dumfries and Galloway, has 2 grown up children and just about managed an MSc in Food Security (although she would rather be gardening). www.propagate.org.uk