Students serve up their support at launch of Walsall’s five-year food plan

A five-year plan to create a fairer, healthier and a more sustainable food system across Walsall was launched at Walsall College, with students helping to prepare and serve lunch on the day.

Feeding Walsall’s Future: Walsall’s Food Plan 2025–2030 was developed in collaboration with Walsall’s Food Partnership (including key stakeholders from private, public and voluntary and community sectors). It sets out a collective vision for a sustainable and fair food environment where good food is grown, accessible and promoted for residents to have healthy, nutritious, affordable and appealing food choices.

In the spirit of the Food Plan, a vegetarian lunch was prepared by Walsall College students for the launch event using locally sourced ingredients to reduce food miles and minimise waste and surplus.

The students from foundation learning, hospitality, patisserie and confectionary and culinary skills courses also served celeriac, leek and potato and spiced pumpkins soups to guests.

The vision and priorities of Walsall’s Food Plan were shaped through conversations with stakeholders, communities and partners at the Walsall Food Summit in 2024, as well as engagement with communities and residents following the recommendations set out in the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report 2022. The plan also aligns with We are Walsall 2040’s long-term ambitions.

The Food Plan focuses on four priorities: supporting good food choices, promoting a good food environment, building a sustainable, responsible and resilient food system and improving the way the council and its partners source and serve food, making sure it reflects the sustainable, secure and affordable good food needed for everyone.

Councillor Gary Flint, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Health and Wellbeing at Walsall Council said: “Walsall is proud to be a borough that is rich in diversity and we continue to work collectively to ensure that it is a place that our residents are proud to live, work and study in.

“Walsall’s Food Plan demonstrates both our approach to collective working as a borough and the launch event highlights the diverse range of partners who are invested in the plan.

“Good food is essential for good health and contributes to social and economic wellbeing, cultural expression, community building and social connection.

“We acknowledge there are challenges both locally and nationally, making this Food Plan both timely and important. By working together, we can achieve our collective vision.”

Adam Carter, Senior Programme Manager for Food for Life at Soil Association said: “The Food Plan is really important for Walsall. We’ve been working with Walsall since 2017 and we know that there is good food work taking place across the borough. However, this plan enables clear coordination of local efforts and helps partners from across the food system achieve the same goal; the goal of more equitable access to good food for all in Walsall.” 

Kelly Bunce from Walsall College said: “Feeding Walsall’s Future aligns with the college’s commitment to empowering our students to value sustainability and become lifelong green changemakers.

“The foundations for this have long been established, with students learning how to ‘grow their own’ through our on-campus garden areas.   Additionally, our canteens promote healthy habits and minimise food waste as a way of creating a positive food culture across our campuses.

“Our continued support for the Food Plan will enable us to strengthen healthy eating principles within our curriculum and day-to-day working practices, supporting local people—within our college community and beyond—to pursue nutritious, affordable and green-led food choices with greater confidence, freedom and pride.”

The Walsall Food Partnership will help deliver the plan and its vision for a healthier, inclusive and sustainable food future. The partnership will share knowledge and best practice, work closely with local organisations, deliver community food projects that make healthy options accessible, and champion residents’ interests by shaping local food policies and plans. The Food Plan will see a further series of community-based engagement activities over the coming months across the borough.