Citizens and the food strategy

What Works Here Inquiries

In late 2025 the CAC led 'What Works Here Inquiries' in four regions across the UK to find out what national government can learn from the work already happening around the country – and how they can support this work to be even more effective.

In June 2026, they published their findings, outlining the barriers that hold good food back – with recommendations for regional and national actions that can make food work better for everyone. You can read From the Ground Up here.

In July 2026, a year on from the launch on the government's Good Food Cycle, FFCC and the Food Foundation commissioned polling from More in Common to understand the level of public concern around issues relating to food. The results provide strong evidence that public views align with the CAC’s recommendations. You can explore more of the polling here.

You can also explore the findings from each region in more detail below.

Citizen Advisory Council FAQs

Who are the Citizen Advisory Council (CAC)?

The Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) is a group of 30 citizens representing different geographic, social and economic backgrounds from across the UK. They bring with them a lived experience of the UK food system and a focus on what works for them, their family, their community and future generations of people living in the UK. They come to the project having already spent time understanding the way the UK food system works as participants in the Food, Farming and Countryside’s  Food Conversation or the Food Ambassador programme, led by The Food Foundation.

What have the Council done so far?

The Council was set up in the spring 2025 to help shape Defra’s new food strategy. In the first phase of their work, citizens observed stakeholder workshops with representatives from businesses, civil society and academia. They then designed their own workshops with a wider group of citizens. Their first report, Laying the Foundation,  published in September 2025 at the Labour Party Conference, sets out some of what the citizens want to see from the new Food Strategy. In June 2026 the CAC published their second report, From the Ground Up – which sets out findings from the What Works Here Inquiries the Council led in different parts of the country.

What are the What Works Here Inquiries?

In Phase 1, CAC members identified the need to investigate what is already working to make good food possible across the country. In Phase 2, the regional What Works Here Inquiries were co-designed with the Council to do just this, taking place in four different areas of the UK where food systems transformation is already happening: Cornwall, Yorkshire, Merseyside and the North East Combined Authority. CAC members have visited each region to understand how food works in each place – from farming and fishing through to processing, distribution, consumption and waste. The aim was to understand what national policy can learn from the work happening all around the country.

What did the Council do in each place?

Each Inquiry involves a different group of 4-6 Council members who, as citizen researchers, bring their own knowledge and experience to this phase of work. They asked: what enables places to deliver good food? What gets in the way? What would help successful approaches to reach more people?

We worked with local anchor institutions to bring together an interesting cross-section of organisations, businesses and local leaders for CAC members to meet in each place. In November 2025, they spent two days meeting with people and visiting projects. These meetings were led by the citizens and informed by the issues they are keen to explore.

Why did the CAC members visit these places?

Cornwall, Yorkshire, Merseyside and the North East Combined Authority (NECA) were identified as places where food system transformation is already happening – while being representative of urban, rural and coastal communities. They were also chosen for their relevance to the four pillars of the new food strategy – health (Yorkshire), sustainability (Cornwall), food security (Liverpool) and economic growth (NECA).

How is this feeding into the food strategy?

Following the Inquiries, the Council have reviewed and analysed the findings, which are set out in their report From the Ground Up. In every region, people are already creating real value for their communities through food – despite a food economy optimised for cheap calories and shareholder profits.

This report outlines the barriers that hold good food back and regional and national actions that can make food work better. These findings are feeding into the government’s development of the food strategy.