Principal Investigator:
Carol Wagstaff
Professor of Crop Quality for Health
Co-Investigators:
Clare Pettinger
Theme II Lead
Katerina Psarikidou
Theme II Lead
Colette Fagan
Phase II Lead
Elaine Swan
Phase III Lead
Research Fellows and Post-Doctoral Research Associates:
PhDs:
- Participatory frameworks for enhancing sustainability and resilience in urban agriculture. [Imogen Hockenhull, University of Reading]
- Food Redistribution in UK Supply Chains and adherence to the UK government’s food and drink waste hierarchy. [Rusudan Gongladze, Cranfield University]
- A ‘Community Food Researcher’ model: exploring the impact of community based research for food systems transformation. [Hannah Gardiner, University of Plymouth]
Leadership Team:
Carol Wagstaff
Principal Investigator
Martin Chadwick
Business Liaison Officer
Jane Bradbeer
Project Manager
Trisha Bennett
Community Liaison Officer
Advisory Board:
We have a wide range of Business and Civil Society organisation partners working with us on this project.
Business partners:
CATERed Limited – a company formed by schools and Plymouth City Council in 2015. CATERed is the name for school food in Plymouth. CATERed was created to ensure that all children and young people in schools and academies across the City could have access to great tasting, high quality, freshly prepared hot school food, using locally and regionally sourced ingredients, regardless of their background or school they attend.
Run as a co-operative trading company, CATERed ensures that pupils and students across the City have a high quality meal served by the local workforce committed to producing only the very best food and delivering great customer experiences. CATERed operates with schools committing budgets for school food which are “pooled” in an entirely altruistic, shared and co-operative manner; supporting one another for the greater good – The Big supporting The Small”.
Sole of Discretion is a sustainable and ethical fishmonger based in Plymouth. Working exclusively with small boats of 10 metres or less, they are committed to procuring fish and shellfish that have been caught with as little damage to the marine environment as possible.
Sole of Discretion is a Community Interest Company, owned by the fishers that land to it, contributing to the livelihood of small-scale fishers and their communities.
Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association (PFSA) provides a united voice for fisheries in Plymouth and surrounding ports. Our aim is to ensure the long-term environmental, social and economic sustainability of the local fishing industry and associated social networks by increasing access to sustainable, affordable protein especially for low income, marginalised communities.
We support fishermen with their engagement with fisheries management and other local issues. We carry out educational outreach. We go into schools and provide lessons in fisheries sustainability, filleting and fish cookery and we run angling sessions in partnership with the local youth service. We are developing methods of fish processing to get affordable fish protein into the local community.
Tozer are a successful, independent, vegetable plant breeding company based in the UK. We market our seeds around the world and have established businesses in the USA, Holland and Spain. We remain a family-owned business, we cherish our traditions, whilst being committed to continuous innovation. We believe that our success is down to three fundamental things: our people, our plant breeding and our seeds.
Premier Foods is one of Britain’s biggest listed food companies, committed to the UK, employing over 4,000 dedicated colleagues at 15 manufacturing sites and offices. Around 96% of what we sell is made in the UK from quality ingredients, wherever we can sourced sustainably from British suppliers and farmers.
We operate primarily in the ambient food sector which continues to be the largest sector within the total UK grocery market. Our Grocery business is responsible for developing our portfolio of brands in four key categories: Flavourings & Seasonings; Cooking Sauces & Accompaniments; Quick Meals, Snacks & Soups and Ambient Desserts. Our Sweet Treats business is responsible for growing our brands in the Ambient Cakes category.
Barfoots grows, packs and manufactures premium vegetables on the south coast of the UK, near to Chichester. A family business since 1976, Barfoots has grown to be one the UK’s larger produce businesses also having its own operations overseas, including Spain, Senegal, Peru and Argentina. Barfoots is committed to finding better solutions to reducing waste, becoming Carbon neutral (Factory and Farming) by 2025 and providing exciting, nutritious and affordable vegetable products to the UK and European markets.
IGD is an organisation of two vital and interconnected communities, Commercial Insight and Social Impact. Together, we are working to drive change that makes a tangible difference for Society, Business and the Individual. Through our Social Impact, we unite and inspire our industry to mobilise it as a force for good. We have a unique ability to convene stakeholders across the whole food and consumer goods system to address the economic, social and environmental issues that matter to us all.
Civil society organisation partners:
Shift is an innovation charity that takes a collective approach to tackling society’s social problems, using design thinking to support social organisations to maximise their impact. They bring together rigorous research, bold creativity, strategic thinking and an open and collaborative mindset to design sustainable solutions. They are currently testing this way of working in areas deeply affected by inequality – including childhoods, food, financial wellbeing and mental health.
Plymouth soup run is a community and faith driven service providing free food and hot drinks to homeless, hungry and vulnerable people 365 days a year. From a weekly soup kitchen and nightly mobile service at four stops in the city, our volunteers give out around 27,000 meals per year, plus emergency clothing, sleeping bags and toiletries. We signpost to other sources of support and host workers from housing and health services.
Food4Families is a major project of RISC (Reading International Solidarity Centre), that works in Reading’s most deprived areas enabling people to acquire sustainable, healthy food growing skills and environmental awareness. We created over 25 food growing gardens in various community settings and assisted 10,000+ people in acquiring food growing skills. We provide ongoing support at 8 large community gardens, where residents of all ages grow fruit & veg together. We run food growing & cookery courses, Veg4Reading and the Reading Town Meal, engaging 80+ volunteers.
Wen (Women’s Environmental Network) works both in East London and nationally to support women and their communities to take action for a sustainable and socially just world. Wen works across a wide range of environmental issues, and for over 15 years has been directly supporting women and communities in Tower Hamlets build a better food system by growing, cooking and sharing food and more recently establishing the Tower Hamlets Food Partnership that works cross sector to lobby and support change.
Provide Devon is a Christian charity providing food to people in poverty within Plymouth and the surrounding area. Using a combination of fresh produce and donated surplus food from retailers, a requested food parcel can usually be provided to our referral agents within an hour. Our aim is to give individuals immediate relief from food insecurity while they explore longer term support through appropriate channels.