Food Matters puts people at the centre of everything we do. We believe that people who will be affected by a change, should participate in deciding what the change should be. Whether it’s a change to their diet, their lifestyle or a change to their food system. We support people to take control over decisions that are made which affect their lives.
We do this by really listening and understanding what people are saying and acting upon what we hear. Whether designing a training course, facilitating a group session or consulting on the development of a project, we involve everyone in decisions about design, delivery and evaluation.
We want to resource and enable people so that they feel empowered to make changes that support their health and the health of the planet.
But why are you called Food Matters if you’re all about people?
We don’t only work with food projects. Our work spans across the care system, the prison system, schools, local authorities and much more. But Food Matters began with a focus on food, and food systems continue to be our core area of work – after all food is something that links us all together.
Whether we are working in the prison sector or with a food partnership, we look at the whole system and the experience and capacity of the people within it. We believe that change happens when policy interventions align with people’s ability to make change happen.
Where we began
Food Matters was founded in 2003 when a group of food campaigners recognised a need to help local people translate national and European food policy into meaningful strategies and actions relevant to people’s local circumstances and communities.
Food Matters today
Food Matters today is a CIO, Charitable Incorporated Organisation. We run a range of programmes including food and criminal justice , and Sustainable Food Places.
Our funding comes from a range of revenue streams including grant funding, commissioned project work and income from our training, facilitation and evaluation services.
