Leicestershire Food Summit 2026: Push for Gold
More than 70 food producers, growers, community organisations and public sector partners attended the 2026 Leicestershire Food Summit at the Allerton Project in Loddington.
The Push for Gold event celebrated progress across Leicestershire’s food system and looked at how to make local food healthier, fairer and more sustainable.
Event highlights
Speakers shared work on sustainable farming, local supply chains, food poverty, food and farming skills, agroforestry and opportunities for local producers.
Workshops
Afternoon workshops covered:
- food insecurity and access to food
- community growing and local grower networks
- the Grassroots Food Plan
- priorities for a healthier and more sustainable food system
What happens next
The ideas from the summit will help shape the Grassroots Food Plan and other Good Food Leicestershire work. They will also support Leicestershire’s progress towards Sustainable Food Places Gold status.
Find out more
Read the full Leicestershire Food Summit 2026 report for details of the presentations, workshops and next steps.
To find out more or share a good food story, email goodfood@leics.gov.uk.
Food conversations in Loughborough – Help shape the future of Food
People across Leicestershire are being invited to take part in The Food Conversation, a community discussion exploring what people want from food now and in the future. Building on the national Food Conversation initiative, these sessions will provide an opportunity for local residents to share their views on the challenges and opportunities surrounding food.
From affordability and access to healthy food, to sustainability, nature and reducing food waste, the conversations will help identify the changes people would like to see to create a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system for everyone.
Whether you're passionate about healthy eating, supporting local food production, reducing food waste, or ensuring everyone has access to good food, we'd love to hear your views.
Upcoming food conversations
Place: Loughborough Wellbeing Centre Ground Floor, Asha House, 63 Woodgate, Loughborough, LE11 2TZ
Date: 2 November 2026
Time: 11am to 1pm
Place: Loughborough Wellbeing Centre Ground Floor, Asha House, 63 Woodgate, Loughborough, LE11 2TZ
Date: 20 November 2026
Time: 2pm to 4pm
To reserve your place at one of the events, please email: admin@loughboroughwellbeing.com
Future Good Food events
More information about Good Food Leicestershire and upcoming events will be posted on this page.
Together, we can help create a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food future for Leicestershire.
Grassroots Food Plan for Leicestershire
The Grassroots Food Plan is part of Leicestershire’s bid to become a Gold Sustainable Food Place – recognising the many amazing people, projects and communities working hard to ensure a Good Food future for everyone in Leicestershire.
This work is being carried out by Circular Agriculture Hub with guidance from Leicestershire County Council. The research underpinning this work has ethical approval from the University of Nottingham.
Learn more about the Grassroots Food Plan research project:
Get involved
We’d love to hear your ideas as we create a Grassroots Food Plan with and for Leicestershire’s communities. The plan aims to make sure our food system reflects real needs and experiences across our county.
We aim to:
- gather views from a wide range of people, so the plan is shaped by lived experience
- reach individuals and groups who may not usually take part in food projects or local decision making
We are especially keen to hear from:
- young people (over 16) and elderly people
- primary producers and food growers
- small and medium-sized food businesses
- community and justice organisations
You can get involved by:
- completing the Leicestershire Grassroots Food Plan form
- emailing hello@circularagriculturehub.co.uk for an in-person or online chat
Leicestershire Local Food Cluster: Growing a Fair and Resilient Food System
Farmers sit at the foundation of the food system but are rarely included in discussions surrounding food policies. Find out about our new farmer-led initiative.
Food scheme serving up a taste of the future sets sights on gold
After securing silver in 2023, we're setting our sights on the highest ‘gold’ accolade in the Sustainable Food Places Awards. Find out about our bid for the Gold Award
Council serves up county food plan
A new scheme to encourage healthy and sustainable living across Leicestershire has been launched by the county council.
The Good Food Charter has been made public and the authority is asking businesses and organisations to pledge their support.
The Charter is part of a wider plan which sees Leicestershire join only 55 other places across the UK and Ireland to be accepted as a member of Sustainable Food Places – a national movement towards more sustainable food systems. Leicestershire is the first full County member of Sustainable Food Places taking a unique approach which also supports local food action in partnership with Melton Borough Council and Harborough District Council.
Those that sign up to the Charter will support the council and partners to:
- promote healthy and sustainable food
- alleviate food poverty and diet-related ill health and improve access to affordable healthy food
- build community skills and knowledge across all aspects of food – including cooking, growing and healthy choices
- enhance the local food economy
- provide access to more sustainable catering and food procurement
- reduce food waste and the ecological footprint of food
Good Food Leicestershire marks the start of a long-term strategy to make Leicestershire a healthy and sustainable county.
The Charter recognises the strong role that food plays across the community and sets out our vision to tackle growing health issues, reduce the impact of poverty, cut food waste and address environmental impacts.
Person:Spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council