Food and drink charter

Our food and drink charter promotes healthy, nutritious, affordable food, produced with care for the environment in a thriving local food economy.

It seeks to unite people in growing, cooking and sharing good food – celebrating the city’s diverse food cultures.

10 ambitions for food and drink in Leicester

1. Work towards the eradication of food poverty – improving access to affordable, healthy food for all, whilst seeking to influence the underlying causes.

2. Reduce food waste in businesses and households and encourage more redistribution of food, composting and recycling of packaging.

3. Reduce obesity and diet-related ill health by supporting people to make healthier choices across all stages of life – raising awareness about healthy eating, encouraging breastfeeding, developing growing and cooking skills and improving access to fresh, healthy food.

4. Bring people together through food projects - developing inclusive, resilient communities sharing knowledge, experience and skills in growing and cooking and creating links with farms.

5. Maximise the use of food production space within the city, looking at opportunities for using green spaces and brownfield sites for community growing projects and small enterprises.

6. Develop a vibrant local food and drink economy, supporting food businesses in and around the city and encouraging healthy products at the heart of a nationally renowned food offer.

7. Promote skills and learning for those in the food industry or looking to enter it and supporting the job opportunities the industry can provide.

8. Support food and drink production that conserves resources, enhances biodiversity and minimises pollution – while adapting to the potential impacts of climate change.

9. Reduce food miles and support producers in and around the city - raising awareness of local and seasonal products and encouraging their use by the public, food businesses and institutions.

10. Support Fairtrade for products that can’t be grown in the UK.