Category: News

A project is underway which sees vegetables from a county farm in Carmarthenshire feeding children at a nearby secondary school.

Local vegetables – organically grown, harvested and processed on the farm at Bremenda Isaf in Llanarthne – are being transported to Ysgol Bro Dinefwr and served to pupils as part of themed lunches during their school day.

This scheme is a partnership between the school, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Catering Department and an initiative called the Food Systems Development Project – a project delivered by partners from Bwyd Sir Gâr Food that looks at how we produce, sell, promote and eat local and sustainable food across Carmarthenshire.

Having taken over the running of Bremenda Isaf, a 100-acre council farm in Llanarthne, the Food Systems Development Project is trialling and scaling up new ways of getting local vegetables onto the plates of the county’s primary schools and care homes.  This exciting development with Ysgol Bro Dinefwr is part of that work.

Using climate and nature-friendly farming practices, the team at Bremenda Isaf is growing a host of different vegetables that will make their way into school and care home meals, ensuring that some of the county’s youngest and eldest residents are benefiting from locally grown, high quality, fresh produce.  Crops range from cucumbers to carrots and from brussels sprouts to pumpkins with the following vegetables making their way to Ysgol Bro Dinefwr – with over 40kg going on to school plates on the first day of delivery:

• Cucumber
• Fennel 
• Runner Beans 
• Purple Sprouting broccoli 
• Tomatoes 
• Rainbow Chard 
• Beetroot 

“We are delighted to be able to see the first crops from Bremenda Isaf County Farm making their way on to the plates of students at Bro Dinefwr,” says Chris Pugh, Senior Catering Manager at Carmarthenshire County Council.  “Utilising locally grown, high quality, fresh produce on our menu is the first exciting step in the wider food systems development project for the catering department. Our Chefs are looking forward to showing how local produce can be championed as part of a range of exciting dishes, showing off flavours from around the world.”

Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager adds: “Menu development and design play a crucial role in delivering sustainable, local food on to the public plate.  By directly employing growers to produce the food, this innovative and collaborative solution is the effect of good communications between demand, supply and distribution. This is a great step forward, with partners working collaboratively towards creating a Carmarthenshire Food Systems that produces, provides and promotes sustainable and healthy food for Future Generations.”

The farm is also growing grains as it explores a return to an older, mixed way of farming that’s producing the variety of food essential for public health, in tune with nature and takes into consideration the farm’s heritage and the area’s food culture. This has been looked at in more detail as part of a heritage project that’s been encouraging local people to think about the farm, the produce and the land, asking participants to respond to how that makes them feel through art, poetry and song.

As well as trialling this innovative approach at Bremenda Isaf, the Food Systems Development project is also working with the dietetic team at Hywel Dda University Health Board to develop people’s cooking and nutrition skills, whilst partnering with the Carmarthenshire Food Network to further community connections through food in all corners of the county too.

Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Community Cohesion and Planning Policy – Cllr Carys Jones said: “It’s great to see this project delivering on its targets with fresh, local and highly nutritious food being efficiently produced here in Carmarthenshire for our school children. Food Systems work covers a lot of our strategic objectives as a Council, everything from the Rural Economy and Environment to Community Health and Tackling Poverty. More Farmers, More Food, More Resilience”

The Food Systems Development project has funded the development of Bwyd Sir Gâr Food’s website too, to help raise awareness of the work of Bwyd Sir Gâr Food and to get as many people from Carmarthenshire involved in building a better food future for all of us.

Bwyd Sir Gâr Food is also part of the wider, national Welsh Veg in Schools project that’s co-ordinated by Food Sense Wales and aims to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across the whole of Wales.  Vegetables from Bremenda Isaf will be supplied into schools across six local authority areas taking part in the project.  In Carmarthenshire, the veg that’s being grown as part of Welsh Veg in Schools is being delivered to schools during British Food Fortnight that’s taking place between September 20^th and October 6^th.

Working with partners that include Castell Howell, Farming Connect Horticulture as well as a host of enthusiastic growers – including the team at Bremenda Isaf farm – the Welsh Veg in Schools project is helping to get more locally produced organic vegetables into school lunches.  Welsh Veg in Schools is also about redesigning supply chains to make them fairer and more resilient building on the commitment from Welsh Government to ensure that every primary aged child in Wales is offered a free school meal – and that the food used to produce that meal, where possible, comes from local suppliers.  

With only around a quarter of a portion of veg per head of population being currently produced in Wales, both the Welsh Veg in Schools project and the pilot project being developed between Ysgol Bro Dinefwr and Bremenda Isaf farm have the potential to not only increase the local market and impact the local economy, but also to help children connect with their food and to better understand where their food comes from.

Today sees the launch of the Bwyd Sir Gâr Food’s website – a new platform that will help share the great work of Carmarthenshire’s food partnership.  Social media channels are also being launched as well as a new brand.

Bwyd Sir Gâr Food is Carmarthenshire’s local food partnership and aims to develop a thriving, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient county-wide food system.  Food partnerships bring together partners from a range of different sectors to help tackle a range of social, economic and environmental issues, striving to ensure good food for all.  Bwyd Sir Gâr Food is also a member of the Sustainable Food Places network and was awarded bronze status last year.

Key partners in Carmarthenshire include Carmarthenshire County Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board, Natural Resources Wales, Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services (CAVS), Carmarthenshire Food Network, Social Farms & Gardens, Food Sense Wales and Castell Howell.

The new website will share information about the partnership – what it does, who’s involved and the numerous food projects it’s helping to deliver and support in Carmarthenshire.  The social media channels will reach new audiences and a new brand has also been developed that’s centred on an acorn symbol, representing growth and features aspects of the county’s varied landscape and references our local heritage and mythology.

“We’re really pleased to be launching our website today,” says Augusta Lewis, Sustainable Food Places Co-ordinator for Carmarthenshire.  “Food is a cross-cutting theme that influences community health and wellbeing, the local economy and the environment. We are working collectively for the common goal of ensuring a sustainable, inclusive, resilient and diverse local food system fit for future generations and this website will help tell our story – share information and encourage people to get involved. We’re also doing further engagement work with communities, businesses, the voluntary and the public sector, to bring about a thriving, diverse, healthy and resilient food system for the county. You’ll be able to find out more and follow our progress on our new website and social media channels.”

Bwyd Sir Gâr Food’s impact extends across the county and recent projects and initiatives have included:

• Delivering a pilot programme exploring local and sustainable public procurement,
• Developing of a community project through the Carmarthenshire Food Network
• Developing of a School Meals project with support from Welsh Government
• Working with Food Sense Wales to develop local supply chains through the Welsh Veg in Schools project
• Working closely with Carmarthenshire County Council to help shape a Food Strategy for the Public Services Board
• Being part of Machinery Ring developed and delivered by Social Farms & Gardens that will enable small-scale growers to loan machinery for use on their land in Carmarthenshire

The website and the wider communications work have been funded as part of a Food Systems Development Project – an initiative that aims to develop a thriving, sustainable, and inclusive local food system.

Building on its existing work, Bwyd Sir Gâr Food’s Food System Development Project aims to improve the local food system for current and future generations and focuses on:

1. Connecting Communities and Community Access to Healthy Food
2. Developing field-scale sustainable fruit and vegetable production site at Bremenda Isaf Farm in Llanarthne
3. Communications: Building a ‘Good Food Movement’

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability – Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen said: “It’s great to see the Bwyd Sir Gâr Food website being launched today.  The partnership leads on some truly transformational food projects across the county and aligns with the County Council’s well-being objective to enable our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous. This initiative also contributes to the Council’s ambition to become a net-zero local authority by working towards significantly reducing the food miles of produce, from field to fork, that is available to its communities.”

New website: www.bwydsirgarfood.org

X: @bwydsirgar

Facebook: @bwydsirgarfood

Bwyd Sir Gâr Food is delighted be part of the Welsh Veg in Schools project – an initiative co-ordinated by Food Sense Wales  that aims to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across Wales.

Working with partners that include Castell Howell, Farming Connect Horticulture as well as a host of enthusiastic growers, the Welsh Veg in Schools project is helping to get more locally produced organic vegetables into school lunches.

Welsh Veg in Schools is about redesigning supply chains to make them fairer and more resilient. It also builds on the commitment from Welsh Government to ensure that every primary aged child in Wales is offered a free school meal and that the food used to produce that meal, where possible, comes from local suppliers.  With only around a quarter of a portion of veg per head of population being currently produced in Wales, Welsh Veg in Schools has the potential to increase the market in order to help realise this commitment.

Now, in the Spring of 2024, Food Sense Wales has been awarded additional funding from Bridging The Gap  – a programme led by Sustain, Growing Communities and Alexandra Rose Charity – to further scale up the work and leverage an even wider network of expertise and support. This phase of action research will work with more growers and local authorities; explore how to bridge the gap between the costs of conventional product and sustainably produced Welsh veg; and test a number of approaches to establish what a ‘sustainable investment scheme’ could look like.  The aim is to develop a model that is expandable across the Welsh public sector.

By supporting agroecological organic farming, this project is giving growers and farmers a new or alternative key income stream as well as offering opportunities for children to connect with nature and farming through visiting local growers.

“At its heart, Welsh Veg in Schools is about getting sustainably produced, local veg into schools to nourish children via their school meals – the more progress we make, the more benefit we can deliver to them,” says Katie Palmer, who heads up Food Sense Wales.

“We aren’t producing enough veg in Wales and we need to be building our own supply base bringing benefit to local communities and reducing our reliance on imports through connecting local growers with local wholesalers and fostering relationships that help businesses flourish.

“Throughout the different phases of the pilot, we’ve been faced with a number of technical, structural and weather-related hurdles but building relationships across the supply chain with stakeholders and utilising their expertise in horticulture has been key,” continues Katie Palmer.  “From establishing the requirements of school kitchens to deciding what size carrots to grow; and from developing accreditation schemes to working out logistics, gluts and product development – we’ve had a lot to work through but all the partners involved are heavily invested in the work and are determined to see more locally produced food being served on the public plate in Wales.”

Edward Morgan from Castell Howell adds: “As intermediaries in the supply chain, delivering to some 1000 schools across Wales, we recognise the importance of restructuring the way food is sourced.  Working in collaboration with likeminded stakeholders, enthusiastic farmers, growers and committed customers is critical to achieve our shared ambitions, not only delivering Welsh grown veg, but delivering information and discussing risk and opportunities with a high level of transparency. We’re proud to be a part of an initiative that has evolved from supplying a tonne of courgettes in 2022 and look forward to seeing this continue to develop to something substantial.”

Hannah Gibbs from Bridging The Gap is also excited to be supporting Welsh Veg in Schools.  “We’re delighted to be supporting this pilot to further develop and build out its evidence base for how we can ensure we get more locally produced sustainable fruit and vegetables into public food supply chains.  This fantastic partnership also offers us great opportunities for shared learning across Bridging the Gap’s other schools’ pilots in Scotland and England.”

Dr Amber Wheeler who’s leading on the action research work adds: “At the moment most of the veg that comes into Welsh Schools is from outside the country and often is frozen.  This pilot is showing that it is possible to increase the amount of produce grown in Wales, and support growers and farmers in doing so, by using the market of Local Authority Free School Meal provision.  We are growing from strength to strength and developing the systems needed to deliver more, healthy fresh Welsh Veg into schools whilst supporting farming systems that enhance the environment here in Wales.”

Food Sense Wales is already researching future funding streams to develop this work beyond March 2025 to include more growers, local authorities and wholesalers. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Welsh Veg in Schools project, you can contact Food Sense Wales by emailing [email protected]

You can also watch a video explaining the project here:

A pioneering food system development initiative in Carmarthenshire is teaming up with Farming Connect to learn how different varieties of legumes and grains can be grown in the county and processed for local consumption.

Under the umbrella of a Farming Connect focus farm project, field-scale legume production is being trialled at Bremenda Isaf Farm, a 40-hectare County Council-owned holding at Llanarthne.

Here, the Bwyd Sir Gâr Food partnership is growing food for public sector procurement, including supply to schools and care homes.

The local food partnership’s Food Systems Development Project, led by Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC), is driven by a vision to create a thriving, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient county-wide food system and hopes to establish templates that use climate friendly, low carbon methods for field-scale food production.

As part of this ambition, it is being supported by Farming Connect to trial techniques for growing legumes.

Alex Cook, CCC Food Development Officer, says drilling started in the spring on two acres of land that historical research has shown were used for growing arable crops as far back as the 1840s.

The Bwyd Sir Gâr partnership is delighted to have the support of Farming Connect to help drive the project forward.

“Horticulture is only a very small percentage of the farming industry within Carmarthenshire, we see a real value in bridging the knowledge gap that exists,’’ says Alex Cook.

Experts will advise on method and best practise during the trial.

Identifying a supply chain for the crop, including public, private and community sectors, is another key objective, with training days for farmers to inform their own possible diversification into growing for the local market.

“This comes at a pivotal time for Welsh agriculture,’’ says Alex. “We know change is coming and that might mean change to the way some farms produce food and opportunities to fill gaps that exist in the market.

“For example, much of the legumes used in school meals in Carmarthenshire are not UK-grown so there is potential to grow that market to reduce food miles and bring financial benefits to the local economy.’’

One of the barriers in the horticulture sector is finding routes to market that benefit both the farmer and the consumer.

Hannah Norman, Farming Connect horticulture sector officer, says there is huge opportunity within public procurement to support local food production for local people.

“We look forward to seeing this project explore a potential new market for farmers and growers in Wales,’’ she says.

In 2021, in a bid to increase local production, Food Sense Wales along with partners Social Farms & Gardens, awarded five Peas Please grants of between £2500 and £5000 to assist smaller edible horticultural businesses operating in Wales, including Glasbren in Carmarthenshire. The subsequent report showed that small-scale investment could have a significant and positive impact on edible horticulture businesses, with sales of veg increasing on average by 75%.

And later, in 2022, as part of Carmarthenshire-based Castell Howell’s pledge to develop local supply chains, Food Sense Wales worked with the wholesaler to develop an action research pilot to explore what it would take in practice to get Welsh veg from agroecological producers onto Welsh school children’s plates. This culminated in the publication of another report which noted how school meals represent an opportunity for a secure market for agroecological veg producers and how they could be used as a key mechanism for investment in vegetable supply chains in Wales. A second phase pilot, supported by Welsh Government Foundational Economy funding is now building on the findings of the initial ‘Courgette Pilot’ again looking at increasing the amount of local veg going into schools.

Peas Please was also noted as a programme in the 22-24 Healthy Weight Healthy Wales delivery plan under National Priority Area 1, shaping the food and drink environment towards sustainable and healthier options. Its aim is to ensure that our food environment is more targeted to healthier options to make the healthy choice, the easy choice.

During the Veg Summit, Food Sense Wales highlighted some of the areas that have created impact, including the Veg advocates programme; how a Peas Please advertising competition led to the creation of Veg Power and a multi-million pound veg advertising campaign; communities taking action on Veg through Veg Cities; small grants that have delivered a big impact as well as Peas Please pledges.

As the Peas Please programme draws to a close, Food Sense Wales will continue to build on successes with others in the veg and horticulture communities – advocating for meaningful investment in horticulture, building case for public health and working on solutions with new programmes of work, such as Bridging the Gap.  Food Sense Wales is also continuing its work on the Welsh Veg in Schools project and, in conjunction with its UK Peas Please partners, planning has started on a new veg-based project.

Here’s a video that summarises the event:

Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner, Derek Walker has set out his priorities in Cymru Can – a new strategy for 2023- 2030 that outlines his long-term vision and purpose.

With food being integral to achieving Wales’ well-being goals, Bwyd Sir Gâr Food is thrilled to see our food system outlined as the Commissioner’s first area of focus, contributing to all five of his missions, those being Implementation and Impact, Climate and Nature, Health and Well-being, Culture and Welsh Language and A Well-being Economy.

You can read the strategy in full here and watch the #CymruCan video below:

Leon Ballin, Sustainable Food Places Programme Manager, said: “Carmarthenshire has shown just what can be achieved when creative and committed people work together to make healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of where they live. While there is still much to do and many challenges to overcome, Bwyd Sir Gâr Food has helped to set a benchmark for other members of the UK Sustainable Food Places Network to follow. We look forward to working with them over the months and years ahead to continue to transform Carmarthenshire’s food culture and food system for the better.”

A member of the Sustainable Food Places network since 2021, members of the Bwyd Sir Gâr Food partnership include Carmarthenshire County Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board, Natural Resources Wales, Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Carmarthenshire Food Network, Social Farms & Gardens, Food Sense Wales, and Castell Howell.

Bwyd Sir Gâr Food’s impact extends across the county and recent projects and initiatives have included:

• A pilot programme, funded by the Rural Development Programme as part of the Resilient Green Spaces project, exploring local and sustainable public procurement, and developing a resilient and sustainable horticulture sector through a food hub model led by Social Farms & Gardens
• Development of a community project through the Carmarthenshire Food Network to foster equitable access to good, nutrition food through a community grow, cook, meal share model working through Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services and with Hywel Dda University Health Board Community Health Improvement Team
• Developing a project with support from Welsh Government to explore School Meals as a Driver for Social, Economic and Environmental Change led by Carmarthenshire County Council
• Working with Food Sense Wales to develop local supply chains through the Food and Fun programme in Carmarthenshire
• Working closely with the local authority to help shape a strategic approach to food at the Public Services Board(PSB) level
• Securing UK Shared Prosperity Funding for a Food System Development Project to build on existing work that includes three strands:
• Strategic Land Management for Public Goods
• Community Connections and Improving Access to Healthy Food
• Communications
• Being part of a UK Shared Prosperity Funded Machinery Ring developed and delivered by Social Farms & Gardens that will enable small-scale growers to loan machinery for use on their land in Carmarthenshire

“It has been a pleasure to coordinate such a motivated and ambitious group,” says Augusta Lewis, Sustainable Food Places Co-ordinator for Carmarthenshire.

“Food is a cross-cutting theme that influences community health and wellbeing, the local economy and the environment. By taking a multi-sector ‘whole system’ approach, it has enabled us to become more than the sum of our parts. We are working collectively for the common goal of ensuring a sustainable, inclusive, resilient and diverse local food system fit for future generations. Our projects are based on what Carmarthenshire communities have told us is wanted and needed and are delighted our efforts have been recognised through attaining our bronze award. We are keen to build on this foundational work, further engaging with communities, businesses, the voluntary and the public sector, to bring about a thriving, diverse, healthy and resilient food system for the county.”

Sustainable Food Places is one of the UK’s fastest-growing social movements. Its network brings together pioneering food partnerships from towns, cities, boroughs, districts and counties across the UK that are driving innovation and best practice on all aspects of healthy and sustainable food.

“I’m so pleased that Carmarthenshire’s been awarded Bronze Sustainable Food Places Status,” continues Katie Palmer, Programme Manager at Food Sense Wales, Sustainable Food Place’s national partner in Wales.

“This award shows the positive impact of people, communities, organisations and business working together to drive change that will benefit the health, economy, sustainability and social prosperity of communities across the whole of Wales,” continues Katie.

“Carmarthenshire’s achieved so much since becoming members of the network in 2021, supporting sustainable food production as well as developing agroecological supply chains; increasing the amount of local food being served on the public plate and to encouraging food citizenship and participation within communities across the county.  The work that’s been undertaken in Carmarthenshire has also been used to build the case for the development of food partnerships across Wales – a model that’s been highlighted by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales in the new #CymruCan strategy as an opportunity to help Wales achieve its well-being goals.  I’m now really excited to see how projects develop and how the partnership impacts on Carmarthenshire’s food future.”