South Tyneside receives national recognition for making healthy food accessible to all

The borough has officially been awarded the prestigious Sustainable Food Places Bronze Award, which recognises South Tyneside’s commitment to making healthy, sustainable food accessible to all.

The award, which was presented to the South Tyneside Open Collective for Good Food (STOC Good Food), celebrates the work of local partners, volunteers and residents who are tackling food poverty, supporting families and building a greener, more resilient community.

Cllr Ruth Berkley, Lead Member for Adults Health and Independence at South Tyneside Council, said: “This award is a testament to the people of South Tyneside.

“Our volunteers, partners, and residents are working together to make good food a reality for everyone.

“Families across South Tyneside are eating better, learning new skills, and finding support in tough times, thanks to this borough-wide drive to make good food accessible to everyone.

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we know there’s more to do. Together, we’re working to build a stronger, healthier borough for all.”

Achievements that have secured the award include the following:

Supporting families in need

• More than £850,000 in food vouchers distributed to 9,000 children on free school meals.
• Hospitality & Hope’s three community shops and the Key2Life Food Bus bringing affordable food straight to local areas.
• The Local Food Vouchers Project injected nearly £8,000 into local businesses, supporting 157 working families with supermarket and independent food vouchers.
• Uptake on Healthy Start Vouchers increased by 7%, helping more families access nutritious food for young children.

Healthier choices for person of all ages

• South Tyneside sees 350,000 heathy school lunches served every year across 42 sites.
• The borough received a National ProVeg Silver Award for plant-based, sustainable school menus – one of only two Silver awards in the country this year.
• Every South Tyneside Council-run school meets the Healthy Schools standards.
• South Tyneside received Unicef Baby Friendly Accreditation for championing infant feeding and parent-infant relationships.

Community-led solutions

• The STOC Live Demo Kitchen at the This is South Tyneside Festival helped to inspire families.
• Projects such as Food Fair, delivered by WHiST, Apna Ghar, and Hospitality & Hope, worked to empower residents with skills and affordable food.
• Community shops, fridges, lunch clubs and foodbanks ensure that no one is left behind.

Growing together

• Using allotments, community gardens and school fruit tree programmes, residents of all ages have been getting involved in growing food, learning new skills, and building stronger neighbourhoods.
• The NECA Community Gardens was selected as the Regional Champion in the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food Awards.

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Fighting food waste and climate change

• Eat Smart, a pupil-led programme, has helped schools to cut food waste by 30% and has saved money, while surplus food is redistributed to families and community groups.
• Introducing a ‘reusable cup scheme’ at the Sunday Concerts, in Bents Park, helped to replace single-use plastic cups.
• South Tyneside Council’s focus on sustainable procurement and local supply chains means more fresh, local produce on people’s plates.

Action and partnership

• The South Tyneside Food Summit brought together 49 partners from the VCFSE sector, council services, health, education, and local businesses.
• The Summit saw the creation of South Tyneside’s first cross-sector Food Action Plan and stronger alignment between organisations.

Leon Ballin, Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager, has praised the efforts of those across South Tyneside for their work in helping to deliver the national recognition.

He commented: “STOC 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, STOC has helped to set a benchmark for the other 120+ members of the UK Sustainable Food Places Network to follow.

“They should be very proud of the work that they have been doing to transform our collective food culture and food system for the better.”

You can find out more about South Tyneside Open Collective for Good Food (STOC Good Food) at: http://www.hospitalityandhope.org.uk/stoc.