Good Food Oxfordshire was launched as Good Food Oxford in December 2013 to identify and catalyse actions by individuals and organisations that will promote a healthy, fair, ethical and environmentally-sustainable food system across Oxford and Oxfordshire.
We work to improve our food system, promote new initiatives and collaborations, and encourage more joined-up thinking, research and policy around food issues. After a public meeting, a steering group was formed to develop the Oxford Good Food Charter which was launched in June 2014.
Since then over 150 organisations have signed the Charter. In 2018 Oxford achieved a Bronze Sustainable Food Places Award, and in 2020 we expanded countywide working in partnership with Public Health, county, city and district councils, local businesses, and the community and voluntary sector. In 2021 we officially rebranded as Good Food Oxfordshire and were the first two-tier county to achieve a Bronze Award. Our Food Strategy sets out the next steps for us to achieve Silver.
Governance Model
Our staff team of 5 people reports to a Steering Group overseeing our SFP and other project work. Our Board of Directors oversees the Company Limited by Guarantee's obligations. Our Advisory Group provide higher-level strategic advice.
We received the SFP Bronze Award for Oxfordshire in 2021 and are currently working towards the SFP Silver Award for the County including Oxford city.
We have previously delivered a Sugar Smart campaign and this ongoing work is now embedded within our local Food Sustainability and Health Partnership.
Events
As part of our Veg Places Oxfordshire campaign we run an annual Switch Up Your Lunch Campaign, encouraging Oxfordshire's residents to opt for a vegan or veggie lunch. We participate annually in Oxford Green Week and our annual Pumpkin Festival highlights the issues of food waste and promotes fun and creative ways to tackle it. Read more about our campaigns and their impact on the Good Food Oxfordshire blog.
Tackling Food Poverty
Working with Food Power we have established a Food Access Alliance to guide our work on Food Poverty. Our work in this area has looked at the real cost of eating well in Oxford and led to our campaign for a Real Living Wage to enable this. Our Food Power work addressed holiday hunger and access to affordable healthy food in the Cutteslowe and Littlemore areas of Oxford, and we brought together stakeholders from across the county for a Food Poverty Action Plan.
We have developed the Community Food Services Map to enable anyone looking to access free, subsidised or waste food can find services near to them. Through our Community Food Networks we are supporting local collaborations of food banks, community larders and meal delivery services, local schools, universities and business to ensure food access for all. We deliver Food Poverty Training and Cooking Skills Training through these networks.
Catering and Procurement
Our Catering and Procurement Working Group includes representatives from Oxfordshire's public institutions and businesses who are committed to embedding sustainable and fairtrade practices within institutional practice. We are now working on dynamic procurement.
Research
Our recent research programmes have looked at: