Strategy aims to boost local food and healthy eating in Wales

A new Community Food Strategy has been launched by the Welsh Government to strengthen local food systems, improve healthy eating, and create more sustainable communities across Wales.

The strategy, a commitment under the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government, focuses on connecting Welsh producers with consumers, supporting community-led food projects, and making healthier food accessible to all.

Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, said:

“Food lies at the heart of all our lives. The land in Wales with its beauty and magnificence, brings many opportunities which is why our produce is some of the finest in the world.

What we eat impacts not only our physical and mental health, but also our environment, our culture, and benefits our communities. This strategy is shaped by the voices and local communities across our land and seas.”

The Welsh Government is committing over £2 million in 2025-26 to support local food initiatives, with funding secured through to March 2028.

Since 2022, Local Food Partnerships have been established across every local authority in Wales. These partnerships aim to coordinate local food systems, tackle food poverty, improve public health, and support green growth and education.

As part of the strategy, the Welsh Government has set a target to increase public sector spending on Welsh food and suppliers by at least 50% by 2030, creating new market opportunities for local producers.

Food Sense Wales, an organisation founded in 2018 to advance a cross-sector approach to the food system, welcomed the strategy. Katie Palmer, Head of Food Sense Wales, said:

“Our vision as an organisation is to help create a food system that’s both good for people and for the planet, and we welcome the publication of the Wales Community Food Strategy.

There is already fantastic work taking place within different organisations across the country, and we very much see this as an opportunity to build on this through a more co-ordinated and structured approach.

Ultimately, this will be an opportunity for stakeholders to work together to strengthen local food systems and to build back much needed diversity and resilience into our food system in a way in which supports the cultural, economic, social and environmental wellbeing of people in Wales.”

The Community Food Strategy builds on more than £26 million invested since 2019 and ties in with the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales plan and the 2024 Child Poverty Strategy to ensure that everyone can access healthy food.

Support for small-scale horticulture forms a key part of the strategy, offering grants, training, and planning policy updates to promote community growing initiatives.

A new Ministerial Advisory Group will be established to oversee effective implementation of the strategy, which is grounded in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Cymru Can strategy, promoting social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing across Wales.