Ambitious new project launched to tackle climate change in North Lancashire

Monday, 10 October 2022 06:00

Local residents and businesses are invited to join one of four public events across North Lancashire to celebrate the launch of a new climate change project.

FoodFutures, North Lancashire’s sustainable food network, is launching a five-year project called Closing Loops funded through the National Lottery Community Fund. The project will take forward parts of ‘Our Food Futures: a community food strategy for North Lancashire’ supporting a vision for a local food system and wider local economy that is healthy, resilient and fair.

Closing Loops will develop new initiatives to reduce and repurpose waste, including food waste, whilst promoting healthy, seasonal and sustainable food and supporting regenerative enterprises. By the end of the five years the project will have reached beyond the initial focus on food, supporting initiatives tackling waste and sustainable consumption issues linked to materials such as textiles, plastics and packaging. The overarching project vision is to create a thriving local REconomy which regenerates both the environment and our communities, locally and globally.

Food is a critical place to start in tackling climate change. As Councillor Caroline Jackson, leader of Lancaster City Council, said in November 2021: “Food accounts for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions so must be at the forefront of the climate debate.” The way food is currently produced, distributed and wasted has huge negative impacts on both the environment and on society. The Closing Loops project will bring people together across North Lancashire to co-create ways of taking action at a local level to build a food system and local economy that is better for people and the planet.

The project team are keen to hear from organisations, enterprises and community groups with ideas to feed into the Closing Loops themes:

Growing, cooking and eating local, seasonal food
Composting, surplus food redistribution and reducing food waste
Reimagining a circular and regenerative local economy
“World cafe” celebration events

To celebrate the launch of Closing Loops, FoodFutures is hosting four “world cafes” in the heart of communities around our district. A “world cafe” brings people together for short, focused conversations around a specific topic. The outcome of these conversations will shape the work of the Closing Loops project over the next five years. The world cafe events are also an opportunity for local residents and business owners to meet the project team and find out more about the opportunities offered by the project.

Anyone interested in getting involved can find out more and get in touch through the project page on the FoodFutures website: https://foodfutures.org.uk/about-us/collaborative-projects/closing-loops/

Rachel Marshall, Closing Loops Project Coordinator at LESS (Lancaster) CIC, said: ‘’The challenge of climate change and the current cost of living crisis can feel overwhelming. Whilst we need governments to take positive action to tackle these challenges, there are lots of things we can do locally that can make a real difference.

‘’The Closing Loops project was made possible thanks to National Lottery funding. It seeks to reduce the climate impact of our food system, whilst improving people’s access to good and healthy food. It also aims to do this whilst building a local economy that is less wasteful and supports communities across North Lancashire and our environment to thrive. We’d love for you to join us at one of our world cafe events this autumn.’’

Jez Hall, Shared Future CIC, added: “Sharing food together is at the heart of any community. Shared Future is a social enterprise set up in Lancaster District in 2009 and we’re pleased to be involved in the Closing Loops partnership.

‘’Helping, in a small way, to grow the resilience of the whole community in the face of massive changes that will come from the climate change emergency. It’s so important that everyone has access to affordable, high quality, sustainable and locally produced food.”

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Ambitious new project launched to tackle climate change in North Lancashire

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