April 2026 Newsletter

April 2026

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 co-creating a better food system.  We're working together for healthier, greener, fairer food for all.

Hi everyone,

In this newsletter opener I focus on how climate is impacting food supplies, and where to buy local produce including some upcoming markets.

The UK's food system is under real pressure. Extreme weather volatility globally coupled with war in Iran, is creating immense fuel, fertiliser and food supply challenges, meaning more of us are struggling to afford to eat well.  

The Food Foundation have a webinar out: Feeding Britain in an Uncertain World. This offers a snap analysis of how the war in Iran and climate-related disruption is likely to affect UK food prices. You can watch the recording here.

Long, supermarket supply chains are particularly vulnerable to these shocks.  If you’re looking for alternatives to the supermarket, County Durham offers lots of independent shops and food markets. The Green Durham website is run by dedicated volunteers who are passionate about helping people to source more local food, that is, sustainably produced food grown and reared on County Durham (or thereabouts) soil which is sold locally. Food Durham have been part of an ongoing collaboration with Green Durham and Climate Action Durham to work on updating the local food listings.  If you spot anything that needs updating on there please do contact the Green Durham website team so they can put it right.  

Climate Action Durham have organised a screening and discussion of People’s Emergency Briefing, at Redhills Durham Miners Hall, this Friday 17th April, 7.30.  The film is part of a public information initiative to share the national implications of climate and nature breakdown, including food insecurity, and what can be done about it. Local groups are organising public screenings of the film: Book here

Here is a map of further screenings and how to organise one in your community:

National Emergency Briefing on climate & nature

County Durham’s farmers and producers are under real pressure and need all our support. If you follow Durham Local Food on Facebook, you’ll find ‘local food’ updates and events such as markets where County Durham-farmed produce can be found. The first of which is this weekend:

• Bishop Auckland Food Festival, 18-19th April (with 150 traders, a few of which are local producers)
• Gather North Farmers & Indie Market at Middleton-in-Teesdale, 25th April
• Barnard Castle ‘Barney’ Farmers Market, 2nd May
• Sedgefield Farmers Market, 3rd May
• Durham Markets (Happy 175th anniversary Durham Markets!) Craft and Producers Market, 7th May (unconfirmed but usually every first Thursday)
• NEW! Gather North Farmers & Indie Market at West Auckland,10th May

Do check the event socials before travelling in case there are any changes.

Keep reading for more on …

Beyond Food Banks

Community growing,

New nature-friendly community farm

Food surplus redistribution

Community dining,

Nutrition and health course and resources.

Warm regards,

Amy

Food Durham Coordinator

Beyond Food Banks Summit

Led by Communities Together Durham and Food Durham, this ground-breaking summit brought together 30+ organisations from across the North East — united by a shared goal: moving beyond emergency food aid.

From inspiring workshops to real-world solutions, the day showcased what’s possible.

All focused on replacing stigma with dignity, choice and empowerment.

Since its first gathering in May 2025, over 50 individuals from the Tyne to the Tees have joined the Beyond Food Banks Network and a steering group of individuals from 12 food support organisations has contributed to the planning and delivery of the summit, which marked the start of work on an action plan to move Beyond Food Banks.  

Community Growing and Food Network

Book here: Community Growing and Food Network Meeting – Growing Community Through Gardens – Durham Community Action

Future dates here: Durham Community Action Community Growing and Food Network for Organisations in County Durham

Bang in Some Beans

New Nature Friendly Farm Lottery Success

Congratulations to Cultivate Tees Valley on securing land (pictured) near Wingate, County Durham, where they will be establishing a new 24 acre nature-friendly community farm.  Food Durham looks forwards to being part of this exciting new initiative.  

Also, a shout out to Bishop Auckland Green Matters on their new community garden site at Cockton Hill Bowls Club, where they have built raised beds to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Surplus Food for Community Initiatives

FareShare North East is the largest food redistribution charity in the North East. They take good-to-eat surplus food from the food industry and divert it to over 260 charities and community groups, reaching thousands of people each week. By making good use of a huge amount of food every year, FareShare and the community are saving it from being thrown away and helping to combat climate emissions.

Community Food Members use the food to support their communities, including individuals and families navigating difficult times, while saving thousands of pounds each year. That’s money they can reinvest into essential services like advice, housing support or wellbeing activities.

By providing quality surplus food, FareShare help their members continue their vital work, reducing food waste, strengthening communities, and making a lasting local impact.

Interested in signing up?

FareShare offer a paid for service through their Community Food Membership, opt for weekly deliveries or collect from your nearest hub. Register your interest in receiving food from FareShare and one of our team will be in touch to assess your needs; https://fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/

For more information, please visit https://fareshare-northeast.org.uk/

Message from FoodCycle - Community Dining

We’re FoodCycle, a charity whose purpose is to nourish communities with good food and conversation, through the power of community dining.

We’re looking for local organisations who are looking to expand on their support for their community by setting up a community meal.  

We would support partner organisations with our 16+ years of experience running community meals across England and Wales. Partners would benefit from our processes and policies, our reputation and branding as well as ongoing support from FoodCycle and our network of partner community dining projects. Local organisations know their communities best, so we think partnership work is the most important and sustainable way to go forward. It will require organisations to have some funding to cover the costs. 

If you're interested, please get in touch with Sophie Aoun at sophieaoun@foodcycle.org.uk 

Nutrition and Health Course

This course by British Nutrition Foundation is for those who already have a basic knowledge of nutrition and would be of particular use to health professionals, researchers and those working within the food industry.

This course covers:
Module 1: Introduction to eating and drinking well
Module 2: Energy and energy balance
Module 3: Macronutrients
Module 4: Micronutrients
Module 5: Nutritional needs through life
Module 6: Diet and lifestyle and their impact on health
Module 7: Food allergy and intolerance
Module 8: Understanding food labels

We want to hear from you!  

Let’s build the community of people making food more accessible, sustainable and nutritious in County Durham – please connect with us or forward this email to friends.

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