The Bristol Good Food Plan, Bristol, England, United Kingdom

City/Town/Village: Bristol
County/Province/District (Name of): n/a
Sub-national State: South West
Country: England
Language: English
Spatial Distinction: Peri-Urban; Rural; Urban
Level of Government: Municipality
Population: 459,300
Population Range: 250,000 to 999,999
Policy Type: Plans
Food Systems Sector(s): food acquisition, preparation and consumption; food and organic waste management; food processing and manufacturing; food production; food retail; food wholesale and distribution
Year of Adoption: 2013
Adopting Government Department(s): Bristol City Council
Lead Implementing Entity: Bristol Food Policy Council
Supporting Entity: Square Food Foundation; Sims Hill Shared Harvest; Severn Project; FareShare South West; Bristol Wholesale Fruit Centre; North Bristol NHS Trust; Hartcliffe Health and Environment Action Group Ltd
Additional Supporting Entity: n/a
Funding Amount: n/a
Funding Sources: n/a
Policy Links: PDF-Original – Web
Link to Additional Resources:
Policy Outcome:

The Bristol Good Food Plan builds off the 2011 'Who Feeds Bristol?' report, commissioned by the NHS Bristol and Bristol City Council, that examined food consumption, retail, and procurement trends within the city, and how city actions can positively influence food systems. Further, the report advocated for a 'Food Systems Planning' approach for the city of Bristol and surrounding region that emphasizes population health and environmental sustainability. The Bristol Good Food Plan, released in 2013, promotes systems-based change by outlining targets and actions that a variety of organizations, businesses, and individuals within the city can engage in across food system sectors. In particular, the plan provides eight themes that Bristol needs to address in order to ensure a healthy, viable, resilient, and equitable city. The themes include: (i) encouraging people to grow and cook their own food; (ii) championing the use of local, independent food shops; (iii) protecting ex-urban agricultural land for food production; (iv) increasing urban agricultural and developing food transportation networks within the region; (v) minimizing food waste and increasing food donations; (vi) developing food systems infrastructure for processing, distribution, and storage; (vii) increasing the food procurement of regional staples and establishing more markets for local producers; and (viii) promoting community-led food trade, such as co-operatives, CSA, and pop-up shops.

Policy Keywords: agriculture; buy local; community; consumer supported agriculture (CSA); control supermarket expansion; distribution; food cooperatives; food culture; food processing; food recovery; food shops; food system; healthy schools; land protection; local food; plan; regional staples; urban agriculture