A report on the Sheffield Food Plan will be going to Cabinet this Wed 12th January. If approved, it will go out for a final round of consultation before final approval by April 2011.
Cllr Creasy commented: “The Food Plan has warm words about local food production and setting up a “Food Hub” but the potential for boosting the green economy and creating jobs has not been taken seriously.
“Council officers admit that local food production would boost the economy and create jobs. They say that money would be recycled in the Sheffield region rather than adding to the profits of the multinationals, creating up to three times more spending power. They say that ideally 60% of food consumed in Sheffield would come from within 50 miles of the city.
“But the report contains no assessment of how much food is currently produced locally and no plan for how this could be increased, what investment would be needed and how many jobs could be created. The City Council owns 7000 acres of agricultural land of which two thirds are grassland and arable, with a rental income of over £170,000. The Council could have made a start and set an example by investigating if its own farms could produce more food for local sale.”