Local Food Growing

This investigation will examine local and community food growing in London. It will scrutinise the policies and support the Mayor is providing to enable local and community food growing. It will also examine the barriers to local food growing schemes in London and how to support existing schemes deliver health, economic, environmental and community benefits to different groups of Londoners.

• Local food production and farming are relatively small scale, and account for less than one per cent of the capital’s food supply.
• Innovative community-based food growing schemes have a range of positive impacts, but face challenges securing additional land for food growing.
• It is challenging to make urban food growing financially sustainable.

• Is London capturing the full range of benefits of local food growing across the capital?
• What are the barriers to local and community food growing in London?
• What more could the Mayor do to influence London Boroughs to provide food growing opportunities in London?   
• What can the Mayor learn from other examples of local food growing and small scale urban farms?
• What opportunities are there for the Mayor to support local food growing in the renewal of the London Plan?
• Given the conflict over land-use, where does urban farming operate most successfully, and what types of sites are best targeted to be obtained for local food growing?

As part of this investigation, the Committee issued a Call for Evidence. 

This Call for Evidence has now closed. All responses received will be used to shape the Committee's output for this investigation.

In November 2024, the Committee wrote to the Mayor of London as part its investigation into local food growing in London and ahead of his 2025-26 budget, urging him to continue to champion the benefits of local food growing.