CSA Network UK launches policy briefing for local authorities
Date Published: 29th October 2021
The CSA Network has published a new briefing document aimed at local councils around the UK aimed at promoting CSAs and encouraging authorities to support them at a local level. The document is a great point of reference if you’d like to contact your local council to help you with your own CSA project.
Our policy proposals include:
- Recognise and support Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as an innovative farming model that addresses a wide range of policy benefits including:
- Access to local fresh and nutritious food
- Shorter supply chains, reducing costs and waste while offering communities closer connection to their local food production
- Mental and physical health and wellbeing benefits for communities and volunteers
- Providing environmental benefits and public goods
- And as relevant to numerous local authority plans including:
- Climate and ecological emergency Education
- Health and wellbeing
- Sustainable economic development
- Crisis resilience planning
- Recycling and waste
- Promote and protect land for food growing in the Local Plan and Green Infrastructure strategies. This could include allocation of land for ‘starter farms’ for new CSAs, and use of meanwhile leases to enable growing to take place when development is stalled.
- With Local Enterprise Partnerships, create infrastructure including processing and storage facilities that can be shared by local CSAs. Grant permission for temporary accommodation at these sites for landworkers.
- Work with NGOs and Local Nature Partnerships to identify and make accessible appropriate green-and brown-field sites for local communities to start CSAs.
- Procure locally sourced, sustainable, healthy food from local CSAs for council sites and services, potentially through a dynamic procurement system (DPS), currently being tested.
- Protect county farm estates and create new farms by subdividing farms for new entrants. Register significant land holdings (including farms) as ‘assets of community value’ to ensure that communities are consulted on changes of use and reduce the loss of holdings.
If you would like more support reaching out to your local authority get in contact with Amy csanetworkpolicy@gmail.com