People’s Assembly on Food brings residents and partners together to shape Islington’s food future 

The Islington Food Partnership (IFP) was pleased to support and take part in the recent People’s Assembly on Food, which brought together 70 local residents, volunteers, community organisers, and food practitioners. We gathered at Brickworks Community Centre, sharing experiences, highlighting priorities for action, and collectively imagining a fairer, greener, and healthier food future for Islington. 

The event began with quickfire talks on key food system themes — including access to food, food waste, local supply chains, and Right to Grow initiatives — followed by a shared community meal. Participants then joined small, facilitated discussion groups, ensuring everyone’s ideas and experiences were valued and heard. 

Key takeaways from the Assembly 

Across the discussions, several priorities emerged: 

• Support and scale up local co‑ops and food growing, both practically and politically 
• Embed food and cooking education across all ages and settings 
• Make food waste management more transparent, local, and community‑focused 
• Rewire supply chains to better value farmers, shorten distances, and reduce unnecessary middlemen 
• Campaign together to drive institutional and policy change, especially around land access 

How the IFP is taking this forward 

The Assembly highlighted key areas where we are actively working with members and partners to make a difference: 

• Redistributing surplus food locally, in collaboration with councils and community organisations
• Supporting sustainable food aid models, such as food cooperatives, giving communities control over affordable, healthy food 
• Exploring collective buying opportunities to increase affordability, strengthen local economies and bring together Islington communities
• Raising awareness of the Right to Grow initiative and ways to get involved 
• Reducing food waste and increasing food recycling across the borough 
• Education and awareness work around cooking, growing, and nutrition 
• Helping residents make informed choices, including connecting people with local schemes such as veg boxes and community food outlets 

Building momentum together 

For the IFP, the Assembly was a great opportunity to listen to residents and community groups, strengthen local connections, and support collective thinking about practical action and longer‑term change. We will continue working with partners to turn these ideas into tangible change, and we invite everyone in the borough to get involved.