About Lewes District Food Partnership
The mission of LDFP is to make the food system in Lewes District work better for people and the planet. We do this by building a good food movement: connecting communities, organisations and individuals in a collective effort to transform local food systems into more equitable, health-focused and sustainable models.
Lewes District Food Partnership (LDFP) has been connecting communities and organisations to build better local food systems since October 2020. Emerging from the Covid-19 community food response, LDFP has developed sub-networks focusing on: emergency food (Emergency Food Network); young people’s access to good food (Schools and Young People’s working group); and a good food movement (Grow Cook Eat network).
By engaging with networks at different levels, LDFP can identify resources and the most effective levers for systemic change.
LDFP is a founding member of Good Food East Sussex, which brings together the UK’s food partnerships to develop a county-wide approach. We are also a member of Sustainable Food Places, the umbrella organisation for over 100 UK food partnerships, and achieved the bronze award for Lewes District in 2023, which recognised local efforts to promote place-based, healthy and sustainable food.
Lewes District Food Partnership is funded by East Sussex County Council and Public Health England. We work in East Sussex alongside four other District and Borough level food partnerships in Wealden, Eastbourne, Hastings and Rother, with a view to feeding into a county-wide food strategy.
Our work
Our work places participation and representation at its core. Our Pinch Points project, run in partnership with Church Action on Poverty, exemplifies this approach by putting residents’ voices at the heart of local work to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. (Read the 2023 Feeling the Pinch report)
We have witnessed the transformative power of bringing together diverse stakeholders in the food system. For instance, conversations about hunger trauma at the 2022 Lewes District Food Summit led to the launch of the national Alliance for Dignified Food Support.
Our 2024 annual summit, focusing on food and climate change, showcased the interest and energy in building a local good food movement. Different and workshops gave a flavour of the initiatives happening across the District to tackle food insecurity, nurture a culture of healthy cooking and eating, and develop a shared vision for the local food system. Watch this video for more.
Our strategy
Lewes District Food Partnership will soon launch its 2025–2028 strategy, which is a result of an 18-month consultation process with members of the public, our networks and steering group. It has given us clear common aims around food security, health, young people and community wealth building. Our three strategic priorities are:
- Developing dignified and sustainable models of community food support
- Fostering young people’s connections with food
- Building a good food culture that everyone can be part of
We will be publishing yearly action plans that set out the various initiatives that actors across the LDFP network will be involved in as part of efforts to achieve these aims.
Get involved
Please email [email protected] if you would like to become involved with LDFP. You can:
- Join our mailing list for monthly updates
- Receive a copy of our Food Charter
- Learn more about volunteering opportunities
- Join one of our subgroups
