Local Food Challenge

What was the Local Food Challenge?

We worked with the Mayor of London to design and deliver the Mayor’s Resilience Fund which included two phases:

• Open call for local authorities, government agencies and charities in London to partner with us as problem-holders (2020)
• Designed and delivered 10 city-based challenges (2021)

The Mayor’s Resilience Fund was funded by the London Economic Action Partnership. The Local Food Challenge was delivered in partnership with Groundwork London and Barnet Together.

What was this challenge about?

Create a digital service that effectively manages the flow of food in Barnet, maximizes referrals (need) and supply (excess food/donations), and creates predictable patterns for and with local actors to more efficiently provide food to people who need it.

Where was it focused?

Focused on the London Borough of Barnet initially, however the system should be designed to be replicable across other boroughs in future.

Who were the end users?

All local food actors: community food projects and banks, local shops, restaurant and venue owners with excess food, and the donating public.

What impact were we seeking?

• A more responsive flow of donations to existing food projects
• More active engagement in local food need and community food projects
• A better connected local food system
• Open data to support understanding of the local food system

In the long term, the aim is to create a sustainable local food system that reduces food waste and meets the need of all people in food poverty or insecurity in Barnet – and able to support other local food systems to achieve the same aim.