Yorkshire and Humber Food Systems Network
The Food System is comprised of many overlapping and intertwined aspects of food – the ways we produce, supply, and dispose of our food, the food environments we live in, and ultimately the food we access and eat. This system has direct and indirect impacts on our health and wellbeing and is a significant driver of health inequalities.
Our Food System is shaped in many ways through national policy across multiple government bodies: The National Food Strategy estimates there are 16 governance actors that manage various aspects of national food policy1. However, local food strategies have potential to address key aspects of the food system:
- Healthy food environment
- Food insecurity
- Sustainability
- Sustainable local economy
The Yorkshire & Humber Food Systems Network (YHFSN) was developed with the aim of bringing together partners who work on local food strategy development and policy implementation. The YHFSN is comprised of local authority professionals, regional and local food partnerships, and academic partners working on agendas where food and public health overlap. Work of the FSN is member-directed with the principal aim of providing members with practical information and shared learning.
The YHFSN is chaired by Kristin Bash (k.bash@sheffield.ac.uk), and supported by both Nicola Corrigan (Nicola.corrigan@dhsc.gov.uk) and Nicola Smith (Nicola.smith@dhsc.gov.uk) from the Yorkshire and Humber Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). Please feel free to contact any of us with questions about the network, or if you are interested in joining.
1. National Food Strategy: The Plan. An independent review for Government 2022 [Available from: https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org.
