Food for the planet

Food and agriculture globally is responsible for around 30% greenhouse gas emissions. 

It is the single biggest contributor to biodiversity loss, soil degradation, deforestation, drought, and freshwater pollution.

Varied, plant-rich diets are not only good for our health, but also for the health of our planet, our soil, and our fellow creatures. 

A third of food produced to be eaten is lost or wasted: an area the size of Wales is needed to grow food that is wasted in the UK alone.



As well as being costly to our planet’s resources, an average family with children spends £60 per month to purchase food that isn’t eaten. 

Surplus food redistribution network

At least 15 VCSE food organisations in Gateshead are involved with food surplus redistribution. A Food Partnership meeting in February 2024 was themed around surplus food redistribution and food waste reduction: there was lots of useful sharing of knowledge and networking.



We are clear as a food partnership that food waste is an environmental issue, contributing to climate change and environmental degradation.

Food surplus from supermarkets is not the answer to food poverty, they are two separate issues, and to combat one with the other is a sticking plaster approach.



Organisations and projects across Gateshead are taking a ‘whole food system’ approach to food waste by engaging their communities in food waste reduction activities like dehydration and preservation workshops; education projects in schools; and adding to their surplus food provision with locally grown food.

Work is ongoing to better support for food redistribution and waste reduction.

We have an active WhatsApp group for organisations to share any surplus food between themselves, and we want to promote the use of OLIO and Too Good to Go for local food businesses and hospitality.

Through the Food Hub project described on community food provision page, the use of an electric van and industrial unit in Blaydon means we can collect and redistribute more surplus food from wholesalers and food manufacturers, as part of a whole system approach to addressing food insecurity.

Gateshead Food Partnership has recently given out small grant funding to organisations trying something new to tackle food insecurity beyond giving out food parcels.

This included projects setting up gardens, allotments, and raised beds alongside their food provision services, to help communities connect with their food, taste fruit and vegetables that they haven't tried before, and learn to grow their own food.

Net zero climate 

RHS food growing initiatives 

The Royal Horticultural Society has a Community Outreach Advisor in the north east who works predominantly in Gateshead. They work with a diverse variety of groups and residents to deliver training in food growing techniques with a focus on getting the most value from the growing space and on sustainable growing methods.

Currently they are supporting a collaborative approach to sustainable food growing with the Bensham Bites partnership which will be able to be replicated across the borough following this pilot.

Edberts House and the HOPE Network 

In the east of Gateshead, a number of disused community allotment spaces have been identified, especially those attached to community centres. Edbert’s House’s NHS team want to breathe new life into these spaces through creating a community development programme of empowering residents to learn about growing food, cooking and networking with other community allotments in the east of Gateshead.

They want to connect a number of existing allotments together so that they create a series of mini community markets, providing low cost produce to places in greatest needs.

They also want to engage with the local schools so that they can become part of the process so that we can embed long term education around food and the environment, and to use the process in engaging and supporting local people with wider needs which include combatting isolation, social anxiety and mental health issues.