We are aware we have not been overly active online of late and wanted to give you a quick update of our campaign and what we are working on over the next few months. May 2024 sees our one year anniversary and to mark this we have been working behind the scenes over the past few months updating our strategy and developing our operation timelines for the next 3 years. As supporters and network partners of GFC we will be releasing this out to you to coincide with our birthday celebrations at the end of May so watch this space.Â
Our vision for a Good Food Cheltenham remains the same and as a quick overview here is how we have been progressing each of our six timelines to date:-
Governance - We have been working closely with Feeding Gloucestershire to fully map out Cheltenham's food landscape and will be releasing it as part of our strategy document in May. The mapping shows the complexity of our current landscape and how vital it is that we exist to bridge the gap between excess food and the communities that need it. Â
Awareness - Building public awareness of sustainable and local good food is key as our campaign grows which is why we have teamed up with Feeding Gloucestershire and Gloucester City Council to launch our ‘Good Food- what does it mean to you?’ campaign. We are looking to collaborate with our network partners where possible to have community conversations within your businesses or during your events. If you would like to feature our pop up please contact us by reply to this email or via our social media channels at @goodfoodcheltenham.
Justice - Food inequality exists and we are working with a number of key partners to run a number of small pilots to demonstrate how we can enact change. One of these pilots is The Fresh Hope Garden Project a collaboration between the Fresh Hope Food Pantry, Project Grow, Cheltenham Community Flowers and the Community Rest Garden who are growing chemical free, zero waste good food for the communities of St Peters and St Pauls. We believe EVERYONE should have access to healthy, locally grown, chemical free food no matter who you are!Â
Economy - We are continuing to work with Feed Cheltenham, CBC and key partners within the hospitality industry to demonstrate how these relationships with restaurants and events can create nutritious meals for the community. We are dedicated to building and strengthening bonds, creating a network that is responsive, hyperlocal and ready to meet the needs of our communities and our first case study is currently being designed - more updates to follow!
Eat Well - The work we are doing with Let's Cook with Josie and Wiggly Charity is going from strenght to strenght with some key projects lined up for 2024 as well as continuing to supporting the School House Cafe community meal providing a pay as you can hot lunch to the communities of St Pauls containing locally grown seasonal produce every Monday lunchtime.Â
Sustainability - A lot of the work we will be doing in 2024 is focused on increasing the amount of urban growing within our town and ensuring it is funnelled into our communities at every level in a way reducing food packaging and waste where possible. We will continue to support the work currently being done on the ground by Cheltenham Is Growing, Beardyman Farms, Downtown Urban Farm, Project Grow and many more.
We believe that collaboration is at the core of innovation and want to strengthen our relationships with our partners and work together to find sustainable and equitable solutions to food insecurity. If you would like to discuss how we can do that together or to support our work please contact us at hello@goodfoodcheltenham.org. Â
Thank you for your continued support!
Claire