Latest News: Jason Kitcat

Kitcat: we’re eating well

It’s heartening to see the city stacking up more awards to put on our collective mantlepiece. Last week it was the Local Government Chronicle’s ‘Driving Growth’ award and this week it has been the Sustainable Food Cities Award.

Thanks to the combined efforts of a host of local public, private and voluntary initiatives, we are redefining what it means to ‘eat well’, and are being recognised for taking more responsibility for what’s on our plate in terms of the consequences both upstream and downstream.
The judging panel were impressed with the enterprising sustainable food culture they’ve seen in our retail outlets and restaurants and the dynamic community approaches to food waste. They also noted that childhood obesity is declining, school meals improving and community food growing and composting projects are blossoming.

Wherever you turn in our city there is plenty to inspire: retailers like Infinity Foods and HiSBE, events like the Food Festival and Seedy Sunday, community growing at Moulsecomb Forest Garden and Brighton Permaculture orchards in Stanmer, restaurants like Terre a Terre, food distribution projects like the Food Waste Collective and a host of composting projects and lunch clubs. The new Open Market gathers even more under one roof providing a healthy beating heart for the livening up London Road.
The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership has been at the forefront of this drive in recent years and deserves huge credit. They describe the win as “an award for everyone who is working on food in the city – the butchers, the bakers and the policy makers”. As someone who is working with colleagues at the drier end of this trio, whether it’s planning guidance for insisting on food growing space on new developments or healthy procurement policies for school meals, it’s gratifying to be part of such a wholesome and award winning menu.