Tameside wins national recognition for healthier, sustainable food efforts

Tameside has been recognised on the national stage for its commitment to creating a healthier and more sustainable local food system after being awarded the Sustainable Food Places Bronze Award.

The accolade celebrates the work of the Tameside Food Partnership, a long-standing collaboration bringing together organisations from across the borough, including Tameside Council, The Bread and Butter Thing, Tameside Hospital, Tameside Veterans Food Co, Chiit Chaat and many other community groups and businesses.

The partnership works to promote healthy, sustainable and locally sourced food while tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing communities today. These include food poverty, diet-related ill health, food waste and the need to support local food businesses.

The Sustainable Food Places Award is a national recognition given to areas that take a joined-up approach to food. Award recipients demonstrate real impact across their local food system and work closely with partners and residents to create a thriving ‘Good Food Movement’.

The Tameside Food Partnership has been working for around a decade to improve the local food environment. Recent achievements include training more than 400 Healthy Start Champions and over 300 professionals and volunteers through the Children’s Nutrition Team to build knowledge around food and nutrition. Thirty Refill Stations have also been signed up across the borough, providing free drinking water to the public.

Improvements have also been made to food provision at Tameside Hospital, where unhealthy snacks have been replaced with fruit and more sustainable menu options introduced for patients.

A range of community projects have helped residents develop practical food skills. The Slow Cooker Project has provided more than 500 slow cookers to households, helping families eat well for less, while the Tameside Community Food Skills Project and Tameside Veterans Food Co have delivered cooking-from-scratch demonstration sessions directly to residents and community groups.

Tameside organisations have also played a significant role in reducing food waste. The Bread and Butter Thing has diverted more than 10,000 meals from waste to plates, while FareShare has redistributed over 156,533 tonnes of food that would otherwise have gone to waste since January 2024 alone. In addition, around 50 venues across Tameside have signed up to the Baby Welcome scheme through HomeStart’s breastfeeding peer support service, helping to create more welcoming spaces for breastfeeding mums.

Cllr Taf Sharif, Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Population Health and Wellbeing, said: “We’re proud that Tameside has been recognised nationally for its commitment to creating a healthier, more sustainable food system. This award reflects the hard work of our partners and communities who are making a real difference – from boosting residents’ food knowledge and skills, to promoting healthier options, supporting breastfeeding in public spaces, and reducing food waste.

“This recognition strengthens our determination to keep putting health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do, ensuring that every resident in Tameside has the opportunity to live a healthier, happier life.”

Leon Ballin, Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager, praised the partnership’s achievements. He said: “The Tameside Food Partnership has shown just what can be achieved when creative and committed people work together to make healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of where they live. While there is still much to do and many challenges to overcome, the partnership has helped to set a benchmark for the other 120-plus members of the UK Sustainable Food Places Network. They should be very proud of the work they are doing to transform our collective food culture and food system for the better.”

Looking ahead, the partnership plans to embed a healthier food offer across Tameside through planning policy, work with local businesses to promote the Healthy Start scheme and expand membership of the Tameside Food Partnership to include even more organisations committed to a healthier and more sustainable food system.