Political figures visit South Bristol farm to hear calls for fairer, greener food future 

Bristol Food Producer’s Steph Wetherell reports on a recent visit to South Bristol’s Lush Greens by two political figures with an interest in food and farming in the run-up to the upcoming election for the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) Mayor on Thursday 1 May. The visit provided an opportunity to highlight both the value of community growing projects and the challenges faced by new entrants to the sector. 

On Thursday, South Bristol community market garden Lush Greens hosted two visitors – Helen Godwin, West of England Combined Authority candidate for Labour, and Steve Reed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It was a busy day on the farm, as it’s one of their regular volunteer days, and the site was also bustling with insect and bird life. 

In March, Bristol Food Network, Feeding Bristol and Bristol Food Producers produced a Manifesto For Sustainable Food For All, calling on WECA Mayoral candidates to commit to building a fairer, healthier and more sustainable food system for the region. Helen was keen to visit a local farm that was producing fresh and local food, but also creating social impact. We were able to talk her through the community programmes that Lush Greens are engaged with, including hosting more than 100 different volunteers last year, supplying produce to local food banks and food clubs, Green Social Prescribing (supporting people to engage in nature-based interventions and activities to improve their health) and providing veg on prescription to people at risk of diabetes.  

We were also able to talk to both Helen and Steve about the challenges facing new entrants entering the sector, including the lack of appropriate training courses. This is a relevant issue both in the local area where there is a huge demand that Bristol Food Producers are currently looking at addressing, but also at a national level where organisations like The Agroecology Learning Collective and the Landworkers’ Alliance are looking at how these gaps can be filled.  

Another barrier facing new entrants is that of accessing land, and we talked to Steve about the need for a national Landmatching programme in the UK that could link landowners and land-seekers. This is a key part of supporting new entrants to access land, but also to help older farmers address challenges around succession. Both Wales and Scotland have a funded national programme, and it would be good to see DEFRA support an English equivalent.  

This was a great opportunity to demonstrate the value that small-scale urban farms have in terms of their social impact, but also the amount of food they are able to produce for the local community. But support is needed in terms of better training, mentoring, grants and land access to allow projects like this to thrive and others to set up. We hope the visit inspired both Helen and Steve at a regional and national level to look at how they can better support initiatives like this.  

Find out more about the Manifesto for Sustainable Food For All, its key asks, why this matters and how to add your support. 

To stay updated on future events, job opportunities and news, don’t forget to sign up for the monthly Bristol Good Food Update at bristolgoodfood.org/newsletter. 

Plus, get involved in one of Lush Green’s regular volunteer days – listings can be found on the Bristol Good Food website.