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, 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.

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.

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.