Identify more sites to help London feed itself

With 99 per cent of the food and drinks consumed in London being brought in from outside the capital,¹ the Mayor must undertake a London-wide review of food growing sites and identify new land for food growing.

The London Assembly Environment Committee has today published its report – London: A Growing City? – which outlines the key barriers to food growing in London, and what the Mayor can do to increase community food growing.

Access to land was highlighted to the Committee as a key barrier for Londoners to grow food, with unused land that could be used for food growing requiring local authorities and other stakeholders to agree and ensure the right facilities are in place.²

A recent report by Rootz into Food Growing identified specific barriers for minorities, highlighting how minority communities usually live in urban settings with difficulty accessing green spaces and consequently, nature’s health benefits.³

Key recommendations in the Committee report include:

• The Mayor should work with boroughs to undertake a London-wide review of food growing sites across the capital and identify opportunities for making new land available for Londoners to grow food, including new allotments, community farms and orchards.
   
• Ahead of the 2026-27 budget, the Mayor should set out the steps he intends to take to make London’s food system more resilient by end of this Mayoral term. This should include supporting the Right to Grow campaign.
   
• The Mayor should convene stakeholders across London to agree actions to reduce barriers for ‘Black, Brown, and minority-led’ food growing projects.

Zack Polanski AM, Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee, said:

“In a city where more than half of households now live in flats – often with limited access to personal gardens - community food growing sites offer Londoners access to land to grow food.

“Food growing has a number of clear benefits – it teaches us how to be more sustainable, builds a sense of community and reduces the impact on the environment, with less need for outsourcing food into London.

“Through our investigation we heard from a number of community food growing groups who highlighted to us the barriers that prevent more Londoners growing food.

“Access to land was a key issue, which is why we are calling on the Mayor to carry out a review of available land for potential further food growing sites.

“We are also calling on the Mayor to commit ongoing funding to London-wide food growing networks to help improve the access for Londoners to grow their own food.

"London is a huge city, with great resources - it would be inspiring for Londoners to be supported properly to grow more food."