Building Strong Communities

In December 2018, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, announced six London boroughs would be designated as Creative Enterprise Zones with the aim of supporting individuals, entrepreneurs and creative businesses to start, grow and thrive in the capital.

This scheme be remodelled and applied to create Community Food Enterprise Zones across the capital.

In the short term, I think a local Community Food Enterprise Zone scheme could help:

· co-ordinate community food and meal distribution
· identify and liaise with landlords, schools, colleges, restaurants, cafes forced to close and broker meanwhile use opportunities for community food projects in need of kitchen space
· help co-ordinate borough, town or city-wide emergency food support to vulnerable people
· share good practice and resources to help businesses and charities through the crisis

In the longer term
· support local food, hospitality and catering businesses back into trading
·create a local Community Development Finance Institute (CDFI) to help fund business, social enterprises and individuals in the food, hospitality and catering industries
· provide community cooking classes and training unemployed and vulnerable groups in hospitality
· provide a map of local kitchen space to help food entrepreneurs and social enterprises trade from
· help shape local food policies and processes to help prepare and plan for more robust and joined up food systems
· help to deliver the Mayor of London’s London Food Strategy and Sustain UK’s wider Sustainable Food Cities initiative as well as a few of the 9 missions and the High Streets For All Challenge