Our purpose

We aim to harness the power of the food system, showing how food can transform some of the most urgent challenges facing our society into opportunities for the future.

Through promoting sustainable and high-quality food, we work to address some of our city’s most difficult food-related challenges, including climate change, poverty and obesity. In 2022, we consulted with a wide range of community groups, businesses, and organisations to identify the strategic priorities that would help us create a resilient food system for the city.

The Manchester Food Board Strategy 2023-2028

  • 1. Prevent malnutrition and hunger in vulnerable groups.

    In Manchester, too many people struggle to access “good food” - food that is healthy, tasty, affordable, convenient, and environmentally sustainable.

    We want to make sure that everyone in Manchester has reliable and affordable access to good food.

  • 2. Make diets more sustainable

    The food we choose to eat has a huge impact on the climate - from pesticides to air freighting to packaging. Simple changes to our diets, like eating more seasonal fruit and veg, can help reduce the impacts of climate change from food.

  • 3. Build a shared, sustainable food culture across our diverse communities

    We want to improve people’s connection to food, and foster a collective food culture in which we value, savour, and celebrate what we eat.

    And we want to make sure this food culture includes and reflects all of the different groups in Manchester.

  • 4. Increase local food production

    Our current food system relies heavily on food imports from all over the world. This leaves us vulnerable to changing global events, and also keeps food prices artificially low - making it difficult for domestic farmers to earn a fair wage.

    Growing more food in Manchester and the surrounding areas will improve resilience, create more flexibility in our food chain, and support British farmers.

  • 5. Create short, transparent supply chains.

    Long and complex supply chains push the price of food up, put farmers under pressure, and place higher value on quantity than quality.

    We want to make it easier for local producers to sell their goods to people in Manchester, which will protect prices and help support the local economy.

  • 6. Build a more inclusive food and beverage economy, and create a more skilled and efficient workforce.

    Manchester’s outstanding food and drink offer has helped cement the city’s reputation as a world-class place in which to live, work, and play.

    Supporting and actively promoting our local hospitality businesses is key to supporting the city’s growth and development, and attracting new talent to the area.

  • 7. Reduce the carbon impact of the food system by elimination of avoidable food waste, excess packaging, and ineffective use of natural resources.

    Food is one of the main contributors to the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and each stage of the food supply chain – from growing and transporting to processing and packaging – presents an opportunity to improve.

    We want to to minimise the impact that our food system has on the environment.

  • 8. Support innovation that drives more sustainable food systems through the use of data, research, and technology

    Technological innovation will pave the way for a pioneering, efficient, and interconnected food system for our city. Insightful research, collaboration, and strategic investments will help Manchester develop and explore new ways of growing, processing, and accessing food.

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