Sustainability
“Sustainability focuses on providing the best outcomes for both the human and natural environments now, and into the indefinite future.”
All public sector activities need to show that they benefit the local community, but when it come to sustainability this benefit needs to be both immediate and also extend to future generations.
It is important to recognise the ways in which changing our relationship with food can help us to act more sustainably. How food is grown, transported, purchased, prepared, served, and disposed of can have a significant impact on the health of individuals, communities, and their economic and environmental futures.
There are many opportunities to include food initiatives in sustainable activity and many local authorities have done this. Local farmers markets, allotment schemes, box schemes (door deliveries of local fruit and vegetables) and food growing classes are examples of the sort of initiatives contributing to sustainable strategies.
Food in the context of sustainability can mean many things including:
• Growing your own food and eating in season
• More efficient farming methods
• Increased energy efficiency through more efficient processing
• Reducing packaging
• Reducing waste
Often food projects key aim is not sustainability, it may have quite a different focus and rationale, however many have a sustainable side benefit.