Latest news with #FoodSenseWales
South Wales Argus
24-05-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Monmouthshire County Council celebrates food partnerships
This comes after Food Sense Wales published the Local Food Partnership Status Report, which highlights the diverse food activities happening across the country. The council has adopted food strategies, setting measurable targets for procuring and providing local, healthy, and sustainable food. One of the projects implemented by the Monmouthshire Food Partnership is the Welsh Veg in Schools initiative. This pilot project, coordinated by Food Sense Wales, aims to incorporate more organically produced Welsh vegetables into primary school meals across Wales. The project collaborates with partners such as Castell Howell, Farming Connect Horticulture, and various growers to achieve this goal. The initiative recognises that Welsh organic vegetables are more expensive than conventionally grown ones. Therefore, the pilot has covered the price gap between local, organic produce and standard prices. In 2024, the Welsh Veg in Schools initiative served 200,000 portions of fresh, organic veg in more than 200 schools across Wales, including 12 Monmouthshire primary schools. Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, Councillor Mary Ann Brocklesby, said: "There's a good food movement happening all across Wales, and we're proud to be part of it. "Local food partnerships are some of the key drivers of change." In spring 2024, Food Sense Wales received additional funding from the Bridging the Gap programme to scale the project and expand its reach across the public sector.
Business News Wales
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Business News Wales
Future Generations Commissioner Urges All Councils to Back Veg in Schools Project
The Future Generations Commissioner is urging all Welsh councils to commit to children having more Welsh vegetables on their school dinners. Five new councils have now signed up to the Welsh Veg in Schools project, following seven who joined last year. Now Derek Walker says he wants all 22 to do the same as part of his calls for a national food plan. The Welsh Veg in Schools initiative is increasing the supply of locally produced organic vegetables in school meals and Mr Walker said it could be part of a long-term plan to improve Wales' food security and ensure equal access to local, affordable, healthy and sustainable diets. The commitment was one of several made in direct response to the commissioner's report by organisations at the Future Generations Action Summit at National Museum Wales which marked 10 years of the Well-being of Future Generations Act on the launch of the Future Generations Report. The event was attended by 300 people. Katie Palmer, Head of Food Sense Wales, announced that five new councils – Pembrokeshire, Torfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea and Gwynedd – will join Welsh Veg in Schools. Bridgend, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Monmouthshire, Powys and Vale of Glamorgan councils are already part of the scheme. Welsh Veg in Schools is a pilot project co-ordinated by Food Sense Wales that aims to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across Wales. Working with partners including Castell Howell, Farming Connect Horticulture, as well as a number of growers, it builds on the commitment from Welsh Government to ensure every primary aged child in Wales is offered a free school meal and that the food used to produce that meal, where possible, comes from local suppliers. Katie said: 'At its heart, Welsh Veg in Schools is about getting sustainably produced, local veg into schools to nourish children via their school meals. We aren't producing enough vegetables in Wales and we need to be building our own supply base, bringing benefit to local communities and reducing our reliance on imports through connecting local growers with local wholesalers and fostering relationships that help businesses flourish.' Food Sense Wales published a report that said around 25% of all vegetables served in schools across Wales could be organic by 2030 with the right planning and investment in infrastructure, and that an increase of 3.3p per meal per day from local authorities and the Welsh Government could enable the inclusion of two portions of local organic vegetables in school meals seasonally. Meanwhile, at the event Pembrokeshire National Coast National Park Authority committed to a real Living Wage plan within two years, which the commissioner is asking for from all public bodies as a critical step to tackle poverty. Pembrokeshire National Coast National Park Authority Tegryn Jones said: 'A living wage makes a real difference to people, it provides a decent standard of living and allows workers to save for the future. 'I encourage all other public bodies in Wales to take this step towards accreditation so that we can shape an economy at local and national level around fair work, for current and future generations.' Ardiana Gjini, Executive Director of Public Health at Hywel Dda University Health Board, committed to using the agreed definition of prevention between Welsh Government and the commissioner's team, to be a pilot site to map their preventative spend. Sir Michael Marmot spoke at the event about the commitment by Welsh Government for the whole of Wales to become a Marmot region – which means committing to tackling inequity through action on the social determinants of health. Aled Vaughan Owen, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability from Carmarthenshire County Council, talked about the action Carmarthenshire is taking on climate and nature, including a new approach to pasture cutting for pollinators and dedicating council farms to vegetable growing. Julie-Ann Haines, CEO of the Principality Building Society, gave an overview of the role of the private sector in delivering a more sustainable future. Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna CBE, Professor of Management and Organization, Cardiff Business School, spoke about the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan and its central role in ensuring that a more equal Wales is a core impact of all action for future generations. Young voices included Saffron Rennison, Public Affairs Executive for Football Association of Wales, and Future Generations Leadership Academy Alumna, who discussed using the Well-being of Future Generations Act in her work, including advocating for better representation of women and Black, Asian and ethnic minority people in football. Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, said: 'The 50 recommendations in my Future Generations Report will help Welsh Government and those delivering public services to improve lives in Cymru. A week after publishing the report, I am already seeing major commitments to my calls and I urge more public bodies to sign up – including the 10 councils who are yet to make a commitment to more vegetables on school children's plates. 'I look forward to seeing more action on nature recovery, more involvement of communities in shaping policy, ringfenced prevention budgets to solve problems before they occur, a national food plan and a real Living Wage plan by every public body within two years.' Hannah Jones, a social and environmental advocate and the outgoing CEO of The Earthshot Prize, was a keynote speaker. The Earthshot Prize is a prize and a platform founded by HRH Prince William and the Royal Foundation in 2020 to search, to spotlight and scale solutions that can help repair and regenerate the planet in this decade.
Business News Wales
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
'Incredible Work' of Food Partnerships Across Wales is Hailed in Report
Monmouthshire County Council is celebrating the 'incredible work' of Food Partnerships across the country, including the work of Monmouthshire Food Partnership. Food Sense Wales has recently published the Local Food Partnership Status Report, showcasing the diverse food activities happening all over the country. Monmouthshire County Council has adopted organisation-wide food strategies, setting measurable targets for procuring and providing local, healthy, and sustainable food. One project which has been implemented by the Monmouthshire Food partnership is the Welsh Veg in Schools, a pilot project co-ordinated by Food Sense Wales that aims to get more organically produced Welsh vegetables into primary school meals across Wales. Working with partners including Castell Howell, Farming Connect Horticulture and a host of growers, the Welsh Veg in Schools project is helping to get more locally produced organic vegetables into school lunches. Recognising that Welsh organic vegetables are more expensive than vegetables which are conventionally grown, the pilot has covered the price gap between local, organic produce and standard prices. In spring 2024, Food Sense Wales received additional funding from the Bridging the Gap programme to scale the project and expand its reach across the public sector. What began as a small pilot project has since grown into a movement and in 2024, Welsh Veg in Schools served 200,000 portions of fresh, organic veg in more than 200 schools across Wales, including 12 primary schools in Monmouthshire. The Status of Local Food Partnerships in Wales 2025 report offers a snapshot of the current landscape, highlights best practices from the 22 Local Food Partnerships, and includes valuable feedback from partnership members. Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, Mary Ann Brocklesby, said: 'There's a good food movement happening all across Wales, and we're proud to be part of it. 'Local food partnerships are some of the key drivers of change. They bring together public bodies, community food growers, and the voluntary sector to develop local solutions for food resilience.'
South Wales Argus
11-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Welsh veg in school dinners call by as Torfaen joins scheme
This comes after the release of his Future Generations Report. Derek Walker wants all 22 Welsh councils to join the Welsh Veg in Schools project, which aims to increase the supply of locally produced organic vegetables in school meals. He believes this initiative could be part of a long-term plan to improve Wales' food security and ensure equal access to local, affordable, healthy, and sustainable diets. Five new councils, Pembrokeshire, Torfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, and Gwynedd, have signed up to the project, joining seven who signed up last year. Mr Walker said: "The 50 recommendations in my Future Generations Report will help Welsh Government and those delivering public services to improve lives in Cymru. "A week after publishing the report, I am already seeing major commitments to my calls and I urge more public bodies to sign up – including the 10 councils who are yet to make a commitment to more vegetables on school children's plates." The Welsh Veg in Schools project is a pilot initiative coordinated by Food Sense Wales, aiming to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across Wales. Currently, only a quarter of a portion of vegetables per head of the population is being produced in Wales. The project has the potential to increase the market to help realise this commitment. Katie Palmer, head of Food Sense Wales, said: "At its heart, Welsh Veg in Schools is about getting sustainably produced, local veg into schools to nourish children via their school meals. "We aren't producing enough vegetables in Wales and we need to be building our own supply base, bringing benefit to local communities and reducing our reliance on imports through connecting local growers with local wholesalers and fostering relationships that help businesses flourish." Last week, Food Sense Wales published a report that said around 25 per cent of all vegetables served in schools across Wales could be organic by 2030 with the right planning and investment in infrastructure.
