June 2025
Supporting action towards food for healthy and sustainable lives
Food Durham, the Food Partnership for County Durham, is a cross-sector, multi-stakeholder collective of individuals and organisations interested in co-creating a better food system. We're working together for healthier, greener, fairer food for all.
Message from the Coordinator
I hope you are all well and enjoying this warm weather and the occasional shower.
Read on for some updates and news on community gardening, community kitchens, food banks, food education and sustainable farming conferences and events.
The Food Durham Facebook page is gaining some momentum – please follow us to be first to hear about food action in County Durham. There’s simply too much to squeeze into a newsletter. The recent post about our upcoming community gardening event went pretty viral and as a result is now fully booked but do register to join the waiting list in case spaces become available and so we can gauge interest in running something similar again:
Community Gardeners’ Summer Skill Share:
Food Growing for Beginners and Making Your Own Herbal Teas
Monday 23rd June 12.30 - 3.00pm
Meet community gardeners from all over County Durham for a site tour, sessions on food growing basics, and a herbal tea-making workshop at Spennymoor and Tudhoe Community Garden.
Community Gardening
Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, Food Durham have been providing direct food growing support to 14 community gardens and schools across County Durham. One of those sites is Silver Tree Primary School (photo below), in Ushaw Moor, where Food Durham renovated the existing school garden, replaced rotten timbers and installed a rainwater harvesting system. OASES project officers ran several sessions with the school children, both in the school garden and down the road at the Ushaw Moor Community Garden.
Food Durham will be organising a school gardening skill-share event, open to all schools in County Durham. If you work in a school and would be interested in hosting this event, do get in touch with Food Durham Coordinator, Amy: fooddurham@oases.org.uk
If you are interested in connecting with a community garden near you or already involved in one, Durham Community Action’s Community Growing and Food Network is a county-wide network for community gardeners.
‘Landed’ Community Kitchen Webinar
Hear about ‘Landed’ Community Kitchen pilot projects in the North of England and learn from other kitchens already working successfully with a local food grower.
Thursday 26 June 2025, 12:00 to 1:00pm
This free webinar by The Real Farming Trust, is for anyone who eats in or works in a community kitchen, grows food and would like to supply a kitchen, is involved in or leading on food strategy, food resilience and community wealth building.
New working group: “Beyond Food Banks”
The cross-sector group hopes to promote ways of enhancing community food support, including ways to make it more empowering, nourishing, planet-friendly and responsive to individual dietary needs and cultural preferences.
The group are developing a vision and planning a summit in March 2026.
Open to all who want to help move organisations beyond food banks.
Next meetings: 25th June 10-12 at REfUSE and 16th July 10-12 at Shildon Alive
If you'd be interested in attending or want to join the mailing list please email Claire: Claire.Estall@communitiestogetherdurham.org.uk
Community Food Project Funding Opportunities
The Change Lives Today fund, supports people facing poverty and hardship by funding community groups that are increasing access to everyday essentials for local people. Funding is available to groups meeting immediate needs and might include holiday hunger and community growing projects.
No deadline. £3000.
The Bupa Foundation Green Community Grant’s programme will fund practical initiatives which benefit both people and the planet's health, with priority given to the regeneration of green spaces for community use, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Examples could include improving a local community garden for community use and recreational activities or creating a community food growing space. Grants of up to £2,000 are available to registered charities, not-for-profit organisations, schools, local authorities, and social housing providers. Open to applications until 30th June 2025.
Food Education
Food Waste
Is your school joining the fight against food waste? Schools are working with Re-f-use on their EatSmart programme
Free Online TastEd Sensory Education training offer for primary school staff
Want to help your pupils explore new foods with confidence and curiosity? Join TastEd's free 45-minute online training to discover fun, hands-on ways to encourage children to try new foods and develop healthier eating habits!
This session is designed for UK primary school teachers and staff and will give you the tools to start running engaging TastEd sessions in your school.
Upcoming sessions: 24th June 16:00, 8th July 16:00
New nutrition guidance for early years settings
The Department for Education has published new nutrition guidance for early years providers, as part of updated statutory requirements to support nutritious meals, snacks and drinks for infants and pre-schoolers. Whilst not mandatory, the new guidance will come into effect in September 2025.
Free School Meals for families in receipt of Universal Credit
The Government has announced an extension to Free School Meals:
Thousands of families across County Durham are set to benefit from the change starting in September 2026. All children in England, whose parents receive Universal Credit will be entitled to claim free school meals.
Inspiring podcast on addressing food insecurity in schools
One headteacher's mission — The Bread and Butter Thing
Farming Conferences and Events
North Pennines National Landscape Conference: Nature Friendly Farming
Venue: UTASS, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Wednesday 25th June. Hear from people who are doing this vital work, including Paddy Deady, from the Duddon Valley who is involved in a Landscape Recovery scheme alongside his running of a farm, and seasoned nature-friendly dairy farmer James Robinson, from near Kendal. In the afternoon, visit some examples of nature friendly farming in the field, on one of five short tours.
Book by 18th June
Open Farm Sunday
Recently, I enjoyed a visit to Raby Home Farm for the annual Open Farm Sunday, run by LEAF. A rare opportunity for the public to visit a working farm and see how food is being produced. Several farms in County Durham opened up and were very well attended. If you’re a farmer or a member of the public interested in farming, sign up to mailings to find out about the event next June.
Carbon Calling: Tues-Thurs 23-25 June
Near Penrith in Cumbria. Regenerative supply chains – open to anyone with an interest in supply chains; regenerative grazing, how to restore the microbial bridge in soil and people; farm tour, workshops, speakers, local food. Carbon Calling CIC is a farmer-led movement to empower livestock farmers to develop their systems to ensure they are profitable, environmentally aware and improving well-being.
ORFC in the Field at Hill Top Farm - Oxford Real Farming Conference
Focusing on livestock and biodiversity in the Yorkshire Dales on 23/24 July. This is the first time an ORFC in the field will take place in the North of England!
NE Farm to Fork Ambassador Opportunity
Want to be a Soil Association Farm to Fork Ambassador? The NE is currently not represented but applications are open until July 2025.
Email fooddurham@oases.org.uk for more information.
Why join the ambassador programme?
🌱 be empowered to share your personal food stories
🌱 training opportunities in storytelling, media skills, interview skills and more
🌱 connect with other passionate ambassadors
🌱 boost your profile and become a powerful voice in the sector
🌱 opportunities to attend events, meet with policy-makers and media interviews
🌱 expenses covered, equipment to help you and Ambassador merch!
Who can be an Ambassador?
Someone working in the UK food system and:
📣 want to see a fairer food system and strive for high standards of food and healthy diets.
🙋🏼♂️ identify with the principles of health, ecology, fairness and care.
👩🏽🏫 want to share your story. You may represent a voice that often goes unheard and a want to be a part of the wider good food movement.
👩🏼🍳 have time to commit to attend in person and online training (up to 3 days September – December 2025)
🧑🏾🌾 willing to learn and develop your voice through stories.
You can apply to be an Ambassador using this application form.
We want to hear from you!
Let’s build the community of people making food more accessible, sustainable and nutritious in County Durham – please invite Food Durham to follow you on Facebook so we can follow you back.
If you have news or events you’d like to share about local action around sustainable and healthy food, please email Amy: fooddurham@oases.org.uk