Our views about the proposed National Good Food Nation Plan  

About Good Food Nation 

The Good Food Nation Act (2022) Act places duties on Scottish Ministers, local authorities and health boards to produce Good Food Nation Plans. These Plans will set out the main outcomes to be achieved in relation to food-related issues, the policies needed to do this and the measures that will be used to assess progress. 

 The proposed National Good Food Nation Plan has recently been out for consultation and sets out six over-arching Outcomes for a Good Food Nation; the range of targets and indicators that will be used to gauge progress towards achieving them; and details of a wide range of food-related policies and initiatives from across the Scottish Government. The National Plan will be finalised before local authorities and health boards begin their own Good Food Nation Plans.  

 The proposed National Good Food Nation Plan – Public Health Scotland’s views. 

Public Health Scotland have recently responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on their Proposed Good Food Nation Plan. 

The consultation invited organisations to identify any specific changes they would like to see reflected in the national plan. We welcomed many aspects of the Scottish Government’s proposed Good Food Nation (GFN) Plan, particularly its commitment to a ‘Whole of Government’ approach, improved access to land for community growing, and ensuring dignified access to food.  With regards to community food, we recommended the following:  

•  Food is integral to a wide range of community organisations: We welcomed the inclusion of community food organisations as one of the many actors in the food system to support a  Good Food Nation, but suggested that the Plan recognises that food is integral to a range of community and voluntary sector organisations, not just those focused solely on food or food growing: With over 46,500 voluntary organisations in Scotland, many include food-related services that could support a Good Food culture, such as community cafes, lunch clubs, cooking groups and snacks or meal provision. 
•  Collaboration: We recommended that the National Plan encourages collaborative working between local authorities and health boards to achieve shared outcomes. This approach would help address common challenges.  
• Community and voluntary sector involvement: To reflect the vital contribution of the community and voluntary sector, we recommended the Plan clearly outlines how it has engaged – and will continue to engage, the sector. Additionally, we recommended the Plan emphasises the essential role of community and voluntary sector involvement in local food plans. Their involvement will enhance collaboration and ensure food plans reflect community needs. 
• Measuring impact: In addition to existing food growing, we would urged the National Plan to consider developing future suitable indicators to measure the much wider contribution that communities and the community and voluntary sector organisations make to the range of outcomes and goals of GFN plans.
• Fair Funding Commitment: We recommended the Plan makes a clear commitment to adopting fair funding models across all food-related funding decisions involving the community and voluntary sector. Funding is a significant barrier for the sector. Incorporating a clear intention of fair funding in the National Plan would align with the recently published Scottish Government’s Population Health Framework: Supporting Sector Summaries – Community and Voluntary Sector and could influence similar commitments in local plans.  
• Dignified and culturally appropriate: We welcomed the aims of the Plan to ensure that “everyone benefits from a reliable and dignified access to safe, nutritious affordable, enjoyable and age-appropriate food.” We suggested that the Plan includes a clear definition of “dignity” in the context of food access and that the commitment to ensuring that “culturally appropriate” alongside “age appropriate” food is available is reinstated.  
• Holistic services: We recommended the Plan should align with the Scottish Government’s “Cash First – Towards Ending the Need for Food Banks” Plan by exploring how food aid providers can connect to preventative and holistic services. 
• Measuring Access Across Geographies: While we welcomed the focus on access to nutritious and affordable food, indicators must reflect disparities in access across remote, rural, and urban areas. The Plan should commit to developing more inclusive methods to measure progress.   

You can read the Public Health Scotland response to the Good Food Nation National Plan on the Scottish Parliament website.  

 kim.newstead@phs.scot