The UK Government’s new National Food Strategy, the ‘Good Food Cycle’, was launched on 15 July 2025. This strategy marks an important shift, an attempt to join the dots and address the food system as a whole. It sets out a vision for a future where good food is not a privilege, but a basic expectation – food that is healthy, affordable, sustainable, and resilient against the shocks of our time. 

We welcome this plan of action at Good Food Oxfordshire and see this as a step in the right direction. Over the last few years, we’ve been coordinating the Oxfordshire Food Strategy and local Food Action Plans, a timely example of what it takes to develop and roll out a place-based, collaborative food strategy, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. 

The Oxfordshire Food Strategy 

Since the launch of the Oxfordshire Food Strategy in 2021, we’ve been working with city, district and county councils, community organisations, food and farming businesses, and local institutions, to develop and implement local Food Action Plans across Oxfordshire, turning strategy into practice. We’ve looked at different actions to meet defined goals, developed clear metrics, and learned the importance of multi sectoral partnerships and collaboration.  

We wanted to share our journey, and so this week we’re proud to launch our new report: Implementing the Oxfordshire Food Strategy and Food Action Plans: Roadmap and Learnings from a Place-Based Approach. It’s a reflection on what we’ve achieved, but also intended as a practical roadmap, showing what a collaborative, county-wide approach to good food can look like. We hope this report will be useful to other local food partnerships, and to policymakers looking for real-world examples of how strategy can become action. 

The Good Food Cycle 

The new national strategy offers 10 priority outcomes, covering health, affordability, good growth, resilient supply chains, and vibrant food culture. We were particularly heartened to see Outcome 10 ‘champion place-based initiatives’, recognising networks like Sustainable Food Places and the crucial role of local food partnerships like ours. 

“We warmly welcome the Good Food Cycle,” says Jess Kopp, Network Lead at GFO. “In Oxfordshire, where we’ve been implementing the Oxfordshire Food Strategy and district-level Food Action Plans, we’ve seen first-hand how local action can deliver national outcomes – but only when there’s proper collaboration and investment. We have the experience, the data, and the community relationships to prove it. We want to share this learning, and help shape the policies that will make the biggest difference.” 

The past few years of action across Oxfordshire has taught us that a resilient food system is built locally, through trust, collaboration, and creativity. But it also needs national policies that support this work. 

Our new report, Implementing the Oxfordshire Food Strategy and Food Action Plans: Roadmap and Learnings from a Place-Based Approach shows that: 

• Local food strategies like ours can act as a blueprint for other regions 
• Developing metrics and tracking impact is key to success 
• Stakeholders from across the food system, including councils, businesses, farmers and grassroots community organisations, all need a seat at the table if we’re serious about change 

We look forward to seeing what happens next in terms of implementation of the Good Food Cycle and we urge that the government follow through with joined-up policies, cross-departmental collaboration, and long-term investment if this vision is to become reality. 

In the meantime, in Oxfordshire, we will keep working with our network to create a food system that meets the needs of people, communities, and our planet.  

If you’d like to learn more about our Oxfordshire Food Strategy, Food Action Plans, and the lessons we’ve learned over the past year, you can read our new report here. If you’d like to join the GFO network, you can make a pledge to our Good Food Charter here.