About ShefFood
ShefFood is a cross-sector partnership of organisations across the city formed of local public agencies, businesses, individuals, and academic and community organisations committed to working together to create a more sustainable food system for Sheffield.
Why Sustainable Food?
Our need to eat shapes our daily existence, from political and economic systems to the landscapes we create, our identities and the relationships that we form. As a result, it has the potential to provide many solutions to issues that face us today. There are many ways that this happens even at the local level: through cooking together, growing our own, informing ourselves and teaching others about the food system, designing and planning our cities with food in mind as well as demanding action from policymakers.
Since the mid-1980s, there have been progressive food plans, strategies and policies developed on an understanding that local government, the NHS, universities, businesses and Sheffield communities must all work together in partnership to create the lasting change needed. Issues within our food system are systemic, and any work to improve this must recognise the relationship between different aspects and how they relate to one another.
There is a shared vision and strategic commitment to developing a more resilient and sustainable food system for the Sheffield City Region. ShefFood exists to make this happen in practice within the city, through sharing knowledge and developing ideas across the food sector.
ShefFood is Sheffield’s Food Partnership and a Sustainable Food Places member. Sustainable Food Places (SFP) is a partnership programme that supports places across the UK on their journey towards creating sustainable, equitable and healthy food systems. The programme runs an award scheme which recognises places that are undertaking this journey, with the opportunity to win Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. The SFP awards are based on a partnership being able to evidence their progress in six key areas, which are focused on building a sustainable, healthy and equitable food system. Sheffield was awarded a Sustainable Food Places Bronze Award in 2021. ShefFood is now working with its partners and city-wide organisations to achieve the Sustainable Food Places’ Silver Award.
The Team
As a collective of organisations, ShefFood is also run by a collective of people who are passionate about all things food.
ShefFood is here to work for the people of Sheffield, and we take our role very seriously. The ShefFood team comprises an active coordination team that handles the day-to-day running of the organisation and a steering group made up of key people involved in Sheffield’s food system and heading up our working groups.
Coordination Team
- Rachael Treharne – Partnership Coordinator
- Selina Treuherz – Partnership Coordinator
Steering Group
- Liz Harris (SCC, Food health and obesity board Working Group)
- Rene Meijer (Food Works, Food Ladders Working Group)
- Leon Ballin (SFP, Good Food Movement Working Group)
- Gareth Roberts (Regather, Growing and Compost Working Group)
- Peter Jackson (The University of Sheffield)
- Lucie Nield (Sheffield Hallam)
SFP Silver Award Winner 2023
Sheffield won The Sustainable Food Places Silver Award in 2023. We’ll now work towards Good. Here are some of the main actions we’ve accomplished.
Developing our relationships with anchor institutions in Sheffield, including The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.
Increasing our capacity as an organisation to reach more local people, support more partner organisations and run more events.
Working with Sheffield City Council to strategise and implement sustainable food systems and bolstering the local economy.
Applying for funding through grants and campaigns that focus on building better food systems for all.
Setting up a dedicated steering group to develop finance and governance structures.
Creating a range of themed working groups for specific areas of development in our overarching food strategy
SFP Bronze Award Winner 2021
Sheffield was awarded a Sustainable Food Places Bronze Award in 2021. To achieve the award, we researched, contacted and collaborated with organisations and communities across Sheffield to highlight how Sheffield is tackling each key issue. This is a list of our recent achievements and campaigns.
Organised regular Covid-19 Response online meetings, email bulletins and social media posts throughout the CV19 crisis to connect & support food system organisations, share best practices and coordinate activity
Supported the SFP Day of Celebration and Action with social media posts and newsletter feature
Delivered the Veg Cities Fresh St campaign offering fruit and vegetable cash transfer vouchers
Participating in the Self-Organising Action for Food Equity (SAFE) digital & comms infrastructure project to support multi-organisational food partnership working in Sheffield
Organising the ShefFood Bronze Accelerator food partnership development workshop
Produced the ShefFood Village area of the Sheffield Food Festival 2019
Launched the Discussions Over Dinner event series in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University and Food Works Sheffield.