Our Aims
Achieving transformational change within the food system requires innovation in public policies. This in turn requires decision making processes – or governance – that are fit for purpose.
FixOurFood is identifying which policies and governance structures are needed to support transformative change, with a particular focus on new innovative tools which can deliver food system transformation in Yorkshire and the UK.
We aim to ensure that local decision makers have the capability and motivation to deliver transformative change in Yorkshire and to provide researchers and national decision makers with the knowledge needed to overcome policy and governance barriers and enable transformative policy to be delivered.
Who we work with
We work with local and regional councils, local food partnerships and diverse organisations across the public and private sectors and civil society across the Yorkshire and Humber Region to research food systems governance and deliver tangible policy change.
At the national level, we have directly contributed to the development of the Land Use Framework for England, through collaboration with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
What we do
We explore existing policies that affect the Yorkshire food system, focusing on those influencing and shaping school food, hybrid economies and farming. We identify how decisions are made and what policy opportunities for change we can influence from our research within the programme and explore the main policy and governance barriers to change and, most significantly, how these can be overcome.
Recent activity
In June 2023 the Local Food Action Plan for Sheffield was published – led by ShefFood and in collaboration with FixOurFood. The plan recognises and celebrates Sheffield’s current and future actions toward a fairer, more sustainable and more resilient food system. Around 100 organisations were involved in the co-creation of the plan, which builds on the vision set out in ‘Fairer, Healthier, Greener’ – the Food Strategy launched by Sheffield City Council in March 2023.
In June 2022 the UK government released its Food Strategy. Given the lack of new policies or commitments in the Strategy, FixOurFood researchers thought it would be useful to look at what legislation the government had committed to passing into law with the potentil to impact the food system. A review of the Queen’s Speech on 10 May 2022 (delivered by the then Prince Charles) was carried out and resulted in a policy brief entitled ‘Food policy crumbs in the 2022 Queen’s Speech’.
Key people: Dr Christopher Yap and Dr Rebecca Wells