Doncaster Food Network

A healthy and sustainable food system for people, places, and planet.

The Doncaster Food Network (DFN) is a collaborative endeavour by public and private organisations to ensure everyone in the City of Doncaster has equal access to nutritious food which contributes to their health and wellbeing, and which supports both the local environment and economy. The network was originally launched in 2017 but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The DFN was relaunched in October 2025, bringing together ~30 partners from across the food system in Doncaster. It was collectively agreed that meetings will take place bimonthly moving forwards, with each meeting focusing on one of the 5 aims of the Doncaster Food Plan (see Food Plan section below).

If you are interested in joining the network, or if you have any questions, please do get in touch with Kirstie Lamb at Kirstie.Lamb@doncaster.gov.uk 

What are Food Networks?

Transforming the way an area engages with food and building a food system that works for everyone requires a collaborative effort. Food networks, also known as Local Food Partnerships, bring together stakeholders from across the food system in an area to develop cross-sector solutions to make food fairer, healthier, and more sustainable for all. Food networks seek to join the dots between numerous food-related issues, including food poverty, climate change, local economies, and food-related ill health, ensuring that a whole systems approach to food is taken. 

Purpose and Scope of the Doncaster Food Network (DFN)

The DFN aims to bring together people from various sectors across Doncaster working together to create a support system and offer opportunities and knowledge on many food related areas. The network shares the vision of the Doncaster Food Plan: 2025-2030:

‘For everyone in Doncaster to be able to access and use a range of nutritious and sustainable foods in ways that enable people, places, and the planet to thrive.’

Aims and Objectives

• To create a network of all food related or adjacent organisations to enable easier and successful communication and working relationships between members
• Work in partnership to deliver on the vision and aims of the Doncaster Food Plan (2025-2030) - please see Food Plan section below for more information
• To further efforts to combat climate and biodiversity emergencies through sustainable food and farming practices
• To work towards achieving a Bronze Sustainable Food Place Award; Sustainable Food Places is a social movement that brings together pioneering food partnerships across the UK that drives innovation and best practice on all aspects of healthy and sustainable food (more information of Sustainable Food Places can be found below)
• Identify and share funding opportunities and useful information/resources, e.g. policy changes, food-related news, training/webinars, between members

Membership and Meetings

Membership is open to all food related and adjacent organisations that work in some capacity within the food system in Doncaster.

Meetings will be hosted every 2 months (6 meetings over the course of the year). Each meeting will focus on one of the 5 main aims of the Doncaster Food Plan, with opportunities to share updates on activities, make calls for support, and identify new actions. We will also spotlight on one organisation/business/activity in each meeting.

The venue of each meeting will be determined in advance, but the hope is that different members will have the opportunity to host the network.

Doncaster Food Plan: 2025-2030

The Doncaster Food Network will support the delivery of the Doncaster Food Plan. The Doncaster Food Plan sets out a collective vision for food across the city, 5-year aims and objectives to work towards this, and a plan of action for how these aims and objectives will be achieved. The Food Plan has been co-produced by representatives from the council, third sector organisations, the public sector, and local businesses. 

Aims and objectives of the Doncaster Food Plan:

 

Aim 1: Build residents' food-related knowledge and skills	Objective 1. Increase opportunities for cooking and nutrition education and skill-sharing for all age groups. Objective 2. Develop accessible and realistic campaigns, communication, and resources that raise public awareness of nutritious and sustainable foods and the factors that influence eating behaviours.
Aim 2: Strengthen Food Ladders to address food insecurity	Objective 1. Identify and promote existing assets across Doncaster that support residents to access affordable, nutritious food. Objective 2. Increase the offer of existing food support initiatives and develop new activities where gaps in provision have been highlighted.
Aim 3: Create a supportive food environment	Objective 1. Address the commercial determinants of health that influence food-related behaviours. Objective 2. Improve access to nutritious and sustainable food and drink where we live, work, and play.
Aim 4: Tackle food waste and surplus food	Objective 1. Reduce food waste where we live, work, and play, and support appropriate disposal initiatives where waste is unavoidable. Objective 2. Improve the redistribution of surplus food, especially to those most in need.
Aim 5: Support and promote locally produced food	Objective 1. Build connections with and support local food producers and businesses. Objective 2. Encourage and facilitate food growing where we live, work, and play.

Doncaster Food Plan (final 2.0 - Feb 25)

Download (2.41MB - PDF)

Doncaster Food Plan (summary version - final )

Download (1.48MB - PDF)

Sustainable Food Places

Doncaster Food Network were the 50th member of the Sustainable Food Places (SFP) network. The SFP network brings together pioneering food partnerships from towns, cities, boroughs, districts and counties across the UK that are driving innovation and best practice on all aspects of healthy and sustainable food. Sustainable Food Places is a partnership programme led by the Soil Association, Food Matters, Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, Food Sense Wales, and Nourish Scotland. The SFP framework for action identifies 6 key issues that should be addressed together to achieve fundamental food system change:

1. Food Governance and Strategy: Taking a strategic and collaborative approach to good food governance and action 
2. Good Food Movement: Building public awareness, active food citizenship and a local good food movement  
3. Healthy Food for All: Tackling food poverty, diet related ill-health and access to affordable healthy food 
4. Sustainable Food Economy: Creating a vibrant, prosperous, and diverse sustainable food economy 
5. Catering and Procurement: Transforming catering and procurement and revitalizing local supply chains 
6. Food for the Planet: Tackling the climate and nature emergency through sustainable food and farming and an end to food waste. 

More information on Sustainable Food Places can be found here.