Report of the Director of Public Health

This report presents the strategy and actions of the Manchester Food Board to achieve a positive alteration in the food system within the city and, at the same time, address climate change, alongside an update of recent actions and priorities for 2022.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Health that described the strategy and actions of the Manchester Food Board (MFB) to achieve a positive alteration in the food system within the city and, at the same time, address climate change, alongside an update of recent actions and priorities for 2022.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background, noting that the current MFB was set up in 2019 as a multi-sectoral partnership capable of driving systemic, strategic change in the food system for Manchester;

·         The key over-arching priority for MFB was now addressing the environmental and climate change issues related to food production and consumption;

·         Describing the specific aim to reduce environmental impacts throughout the food system with a focus on food waste and a shift to more ecological practices;

·         Noting that the Food for the Planet Strategy is aligned with the Manchester Climate Change Framework;

·         Describing the action for 2022; and

·         Describing future actions.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Noting the impact of the cost of living crisis, more needed to be done with supermarkets in deprived wards to ensure people had access to healthy food options;

·         Discussing the provision of school meals and how providers could be influenced;

·         What was the relationship between the Food Board and local community providers;

·         Business Rates should be used to encourage businesses providing healthy food options;

·         What consideration had been given to the provision of free drinking water access points across the city to reduce people purchasing bottled water;  

·         The need to engage young people on the issue of fast food and healthy choices; and

·         Council owned land should be released to community groups to support the planting and growing of food.

The Committee welcomed Councillor Shilton Godwin, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee who discussed the relationship between food consumption, particularly meat, food production and carbon emissions. She stated that the National Food Strategy for England had failed to address the issue of supermarket practices.

Jemma Hynes, FoodSync discussed the challenges experienced when attempting to engage with supermarkets. She stated that local branches of supermarkets had little or no autonomy to make decisions. She contextualised the issue be explaining that food was traded globally as a commodity with complex supply chains, adding that the full implications of the war in the Ukraine on global food supplies was yet to be realised. She further commented that the greatest profits to supermarkets were achieved through the sale of processed foods, not fruit and vegetables. However, despite this they continued to lobby at a national level to influence change with regard to national chains.  She stated that they focused a lot of their limited resources on working with the local independent food sector. With regard to the discussion regarding the cost of living crisis she commented that the Food Board did contribute to the Council’s Family Poverty Strategy. She further commented that the distribution of free food also needed to consider the quality of the food, noting that the priority during the pandemic had correctly been to ensure that people were fed, however consideration now had to be given to the nutritional value of the food that was distributed to families in crisis.

Jemma Hynes, FoodSync stated that they did advocate bringing the provision of school meals back into the control of local authorities and advised that the Food Board did work closely with the Council’s Education Department. She described that school budgets were pressured, noting that the increased costs of fuel bills would add to this situation. She commented that a consequence of this would potentially be for providers of school meals to source produce from other countries where this was cheaper, however the associated food miles contributed to carbon emissions. She further added that Business Rates was a complex system and they advocated a change to this, including the establishment of a grants system to support local, sustainable businesses. 

Jemma Hynes, FoodSync stated that the issue of releasing council owned land to community groups to grow food was not as simple as it first appeared, noting that issues of soil toxicity, the required initial capital investment in infrastructure and ongoing maintenance funding all had to be considered, noting that competition for land was very fierce across the city. She stated that ‘grow your own’ work with community groups and residents was delivered, often through working with partners such as local housing providers, adding that a one size fits all approach was not appropriate.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport advised the Committee that the Manchester Food Board were represented and contributed to the Manchester Climate Change Framework, noting that the Manchester Climate Change Framework (2020-25) was the city's high-level strategy for tackling climate change. She supported the call for behaviour change regarding food choices and the need for meaningful engagement with all residents on this important issue. She encouraged all Members that this should be included in each respective ward’s Climate Change Action Plans. She further advised that she would circulate the latest Food Board Newsletter and encouraged all Members to subscribe to this.

The Chair stated that she would speak with the Executive Member for Environment and Transport to agree how the Committee could contribute to and comment on the refresh of the Manchester Food Board Strategy.

A Member recommended that a future update report be provided that informed Members on the actions and initiatives undertaken by the Manchester Food Board to engage with local supermarkets in the most deprived wards in the city.

Decisions

1.            The Committee note the report and the Manchester Food Board strategy and action plans.

2.            The Committee recommend that a future update report is provided that informs Members on the actions and initiatives undertaken by the Manchester Food Board to engage with local supermarkets in the most deprived wards in the city.