University and city council hold discussions on access to healthy and affordable food
University College Birmingham has announced a partnership with Birmingham City Council as part of its Cost of Living Week to host the ‘Food Security & Resilience’ creative dinner.
The dinner was held on Monday, 6 November at its award-winning Restaurant at the Birmingham College of Food.
The event was part of a week-long programme for Cost of Living week from 6 to 10 November and marked the fourth in a series of creative dinners in collaboration with the Food System team as part of the Public Health in Birmingham City Council.
The ‘Food Security & Resilience’ Creative Dinner brought together trailblazers across the food system to discuss improving access to nutritious and affordable food for citizens.
Discussion points included local challenges in the Birmingham food system and the gaps and opportunities for innovative approaches.
Speakers included Dr Anne Coufopoulos, executive dean - School of Health, Sport and Food and registered dietitian at University College Birmingham; Florence Cadge, coordinator of the Food Justice Network; John Millichap, corporate funding officer of The Active Wellbeing Society, Jo Lewis, director of partnerships at British Dietetic Association, Dr Rachel Loopstra, senior lecturer in public health from the Department of Public Health, and Dr Justin Varney, director of public health at Birmingham City Council.
Dr Anne Coufopoulos said: “Increasing access to sufficient affordable, nutritious and safe food for all citizens, all the time, in every community and at every age is one of the cross-cutting theme objectives of the Birmingham Food System Strategy. Collectively at the Centre for Urban Food we have a responsibility to contribute to meeting this key objective, as well as supporting and advocating for innovation and collaboration across different sectors in addressing food insecurity.”
As part of the Dinner, a three-course meal using affordable and nutritious ingredients was prepared by students from the Birmingham College of Food at University College Birmingham.
The week-long Cost of Living programme will see coordinated events, promotional activities and external affairs opportunities, jointly delivered by businesses, charities and community centres across the city. There is no cost to the council to deliver the programme.
Birmingham City Council’s Cost of Living Programme (Help in Brum campaign) was set up in 2022 with key successes including a network of 243 warm spaces across the city, cash contributions to over 100 foodbanks, energy bill top-ups to 3400 households, and at least £1,717,285 in income and benefits maximisation for the most vulnerable residents.
