Last month we launched their #sheftosilver campaign alongside the Sheffield Food Charter. Having achieved the Bronze Sustainable Food Places Award in 2020, Sheffield is bidding for the Silver Award over the next year, and this campaign is a key part of achieving it by building the partnership across the city. Since July, we have gathered over 40 new partners who have signed the Sheffield Food Charter and have committed to making Sheffield’s food system work for people and planet.
The #ShefToSilver Campaign and Sheffield Food Charter
The #ShefToSilver Campaign is the drive to make our city of Sheffield a Silver Award winner for Sustainable Food Places (SFP). SFP is a programme run by the Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain with the goal to make healthy and sustainable food a reality for everyone in the UK. For ShefFood and its partners, this means a commitment to Sheffield’s Food Charter, which sets out a vision of a better food system for everyone in Sheffield. The four core areas partners commit to include access to healthy, sustainable and affordable food, using the power of good food to bring people together, encouraging a diverse and vibrant food economy and developing resilient practices from farm to fork to combat the climate crisis.
ShefFood already has a fantastic network of partners we’ve been working with over their 13-year history, including; Heeley City Farm, The Food Works Sheffield, Regather Farm, Opus, Together for Sheffield, Sheffield Food Bank Network, Green City Action, South Yorkshire Climate Alliance, FoodHall and many more. There is a vast range of food companies and organisations in Sheffield, and we want to hear from as many of them as possible to join the campaign.
New Partners of the Sheffield Food Charter
Since July, ShefFood has expanded its partnership network, a crucial charter goal, and has signed up 40 plus organisations. These include some fantastic local enterprises and community groups.
There is a vast array of different types of organisations, including delis, cafes, bakeries, retailers, restaurants, brewers, food banks, community cafes and pantries, farmers and growers.
You may recognise some of their most recent sign-ups from around the city, including; Braggaziis, Forge Bakehouse, Cafe Kalyna, All Carrot No Stick, StarmoreBoss, Tonco, Porter Brook Deli, Elma’s Cafe and Kitchen, Sheffield Herbalist, Our Cow Molly, Stannington Fruit and Veg, Church on The Corner, Parsons Cross community pantry, Neepsend Brew Co, Church Temple of Fun, Leaf + Shoot, Full Stop Cafe, Open Kitchen, Pina, The Sheffield Wheat Experiment, Holly Hagg Farm, Woven Network and several more.
Each organisation follows sustainable practices in their own distinctive way. Some have invested in renewable energy to power their businesses with a target of carbon neutral or negative, others focus on local produce and zero food waste, whilst some have committed to plastic-free and circular production. Here are just a few examples of the extraordinary work already happening for sustainable food in Sheffield.
Forge Bakehouse on Abbeydale Road makes everything from scratch – meaning they know exactly what’s in it and don’t use any improvers or additives. Whilst Holly Hagg Community Farm uses permaculture design as the basis of its growing methods. Their animals are part of the land management, providing manure and keeping the meadows and orchards grazed. At Leaf & Shoot, they’ve created an innovative system for growing food directly from green waste using worm farms and organic cycling. Whilst at Parson Cross Community Initiative (PXI), they provide a range of activities such as a social cafe, community & food hub, cooking workshops, community meals, community allotment and growing spaces. The people of Sheffield genuinely are fantastic. Together we are forming a more sustainable, connected food system for today and tomorrow.
Become a Partner, Sign the Charter
By building the partnership, ShefFood is connecting businesses and organisations across the city, creating a capacity to share resources and knowledge and build a more just food system for everyone in the city. They are building the partnership to work towards making a city-wide food strategy for the city, which represents everyone from Sheffield City Council and food banks to local businesses and agroecological growers. All of which will benefit individual families and communities in the city.
If you work with food in any capacity and would love to see a food system that benefits everyone in our city, ShefFood wants to hear from you. Visit the partner page on our website to sign up at sheffood.org.uk/partners. All we need to know is your contact details, a little about yourself/organisation and what sustainable food practices you are currently doing or plan to do. You can follow us on social media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @ShefFoodSocial and follow the campaign using the hashtag #Sheftosilver.
Let’s take our Steel City from Bronze to Silver!