Regional Food Groups lobby for support
England’s Regional Food Groups (RFGs) plan to relaunch in an effort to push regional food up the government’s agenda as budget cuts begin to bite.
The Regional Food Group Alliance, which is made up of the country’s eight RFGs, has been rebranded as the English Food & Drink Alliance in an attempt to fill what it says is an emerging gap for national co-ordination of regional and local food activities.
The gap has come about with the government’s plan to wind up Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), replacing them with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) between business leaders and councils.
Several of England’s RFGs have seen funding stopped completely in recent years, while others expect budget cuts in the next two years as the RDAs are closed.
“Because of the uncertainty it’s essential to get our message across to government about the importance of the RFGs’ role,” said Jonathan Knight, chair of the English Food & Drink Alliance. “We have a concern that when regions disappear and LEPs take their place, food and drink will sit way down their radar. I’m hoping that we can raise awareness among ministers like Caroline Spelman [Defra] and Jim Paice [Farming] that English food needs support. We’ve been beavering away under the radar for far too long.”
As part of the relaunch, the Alliance will establish a central administration hub next year, overseen by an external chair. It will also bring together small food producers from across all eight regions in a single English Pavilion at IFE.
