Blog: FixOurFood Summit

By Anthonia James, Head of The York Policy Engine 

FixOurFood is a research programme led by researchers at the University of York who are inspiring action across Yorkshire to co-create a regenerative food system. The team is co-producing evidence with the universities of Leeds, Oxford, Cranfield and City London, alongside collaborations with multiple stakeholders from across the region. They describe themselves as 'pioneering, envisioning and stimulating respectful debate to drive transformation to ensure healthy people and a healthy planet'. 

This was certainly the case at their first Summit at the Harrogate Pavilions in March. I attended the event, which despite taking place during multiple strikes, still had excellent attendance. The day had an incredible buzz, incorporating knowledge exchange, debate and networking opportunities, and in particular a focus on action, inspiring people to pledge to contribute to change. It definitely felt like a different model for an event to engage people and their ideas.

In the morning the foundations were laid with aspirations for transformation, reinforced by inspiring presentations from key stakeholders. The 3 areas that featured were ‘action in the Yorkshire food system through networks’, ‘regenerative farming in Yorkshire' and ‘innovations in the school food system’. These all broadly align with the programme’s key areas of focus: regenerative farming practices, sustainable and healthy food for children and hybrid business models. 

Of particular note were the themed small group discussions, 10 in total with the option to move round the room. These focused on a variety of topics such as establishing a Yorkshire food commission, procurement platforms, accessibility and rights to food (with a focus on schools), and supporting farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices. These were really informative conversations supporting genuine action. 

The afternoon was all about driving transformation, interactive sessions identifying where change is already happening across the region and stimulating ideas and areas of tangible change participants could strive for collectively and in their own organisations. 

This was a refreshing event with invigorating discussion and most importantly inspiring action. The Policy Engine is delighted to be supporting FixOurFood in their endeavours to influence policy and engage key stakeholders in the region. One to watch….

FixOurFood is part of a portfolio of research within the Transforming UK Food Systems programme (TUKFS), funded via the Strategic Priorities Fund.