Launch of Bwyd Sir Gâr Food Website

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.

Augusta Lewis, Sustainable Food Places Co-ordinator for Carmarthenshire:

“We’re really pleased to be launching our website today.

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