Transforming food and farming
Lincolnshire is the UK's biggest food-producing county, often called 'the breadbasket of Britain' (and can also lay claim to being the 'veg box of Britain'). Yet much of what it produces moves straight out along national or global supply chains rather than reaching local plates, with many of the county's residents unable to get healthy, local food.
FFCC is working with Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership and the Lincoln and Witham Landscape Recovery project. Through a network of land managers, farmers and community groups, this links food production at several scales to community access to healthy food, in the county most exposed to climate impacts on food production.
The programme works across six interconnected areas, with a regenerative transition and climate and nature action running through all of them as a common thread:
Working directly with farmers and land managers to develop viable, farm-specific pathways to regenerative practice; supporting the Lincoln and Witham Landscape Recovery whole-farm approach; connecting farmers to SFI and other ELMs funding; building peer-learning networks to accelerate knowledge exchange and build confidence.
Helping horticultural producers, many of whom are early movers on regenerative and low-input systems, to access local markets and develop viable business models; co-designing a local fresh produce hub to serve Lincoln schools, restaurants, and community organisations.
Connecting school food procurement to local, regeneratively grown produce; embedding food education and farm visits to build children's connection to sustainable food systems; addressing the county's above-average childhood obesity rates as part of a healthier, more sustainable food culture.
Supporting landscape-scale planning for nature recovery, carbon sequestration, and water management across the River Witham catchment; helping farmers navigate Biodiversity Net Gain requirements and opportunities; aligning food production with the emerging Land Use Framework.
Identifying and dismantling the financial barriers that prevent farmers and food SMEs from investing in transition; connecting local actors to patient capital, blended finance, and community ownership models; building the investment case for a longer-term Lincolnshire food and farming transition fund.
Systematically capturing what works in Lincolnshire and feeding it into FFCC's national policy work, including engagement with the Food Strategy and the Land Use Framework; sharing learning across FFCC's wider place-based network.
Lincolnshire Coordinator
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