Cumberland Council has been recognised for its work to improve access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food.
The authority received the Excellence award in the Good Food Local Awards (North East and North Cumbria), and was ranked top for leadership among the 13 councils taking part.
Good Food Local benchmarks how councils support and encourage healthy eating in communities.
Since 2024 when the council’s Food Cumberland programme began, it has increased its overall score from 67 per cent to 86 per cent, and its score for tackling food poverty from 58 per cent to 79 per cent.
Good Food Local works with Sustain and the Association of Directors of Public Health to help councils improve how their policies influence healthy and sustainable food production, distribution and consumption.
Colin Cox, Cumberland Council's Director of Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing, said: “This award recognises the remarkable progress we have made in improving access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food.
“And it has been achieved only because of consistent partnership working with communities and organisations across Cumberland. This is a real testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of our communities.
“They are determined to improve the way we source, share and eat food and we are proud to offer them the right support to achieve that.”
Some examples of work that led to the award are:
- The council has worked with communities to increase the number of affordable food hubs from 16 to 21 - with a further three due to launch this year.
- It has supported 10 schools in embedding healthy food in their policies, and reaching the government's School Food Standards.
- It has funded 113 affordable food and waste reduction projects.
The full report is available from Sustain Good Food Local: The North East report | Sustain. Find out more about Food Cumberland here: About us | Food Cumberland
Pictured, L-R: Emma Mackie, Food Cumberland development officer, Cumberland Council; Val Ayre, public health manager, Cumberland Council; Luke Robertshaw, deputy director of public health, Northumberland County Council; Hannah Crump, local policy coordinator at Sustain.