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Bristol City Council has launched its first ever Food Charter, setting out its ambitions for healthier and more locally produced food.

The Food Charter is about promoting fair trade and locally produced food and encouraging people in the city to eat their '5 a day' and generally make healthier and more sustainable choices.

At the launch of the charter Council Leader Barbra Janke said: "There is already a huge amount going on in the city to encourage best practice in food and sustainable development, with a vibrant voluntary and community food sector.

"I want the Council to do all it can to play its part. The Food Charter sets out the council's food ambitions, such as using our buying power, services and influence to ensure that all food providers working on behalf of the council are working to provide healthier and more sustainable food."

The council says it hopes putting more emphasis on food in the city will raise awareness about the health implications of certain eating styles.  According to recent surveys, just over half of Bristol's residents got their '5 a day' in 2009.  Half the respondents from across the city said they were overweight or obese.

The 10 ambitions the council have set out are:

*Work with all food interests within the city council and within the common definition of
"sustainable food”.
* Advocate for income, employment, housing, land-use planning and transportation policies that support secure and sustainable access to the food people need.
*Adopt food procurement practices that serve as a model of health, social and environmental responsibility whilst maintaining Bristol’s accreditation as a Fairtrade City.
* Ensure promotion of cooking skills and food safety programmes and services.
* Ensure the cultural diversity of food in the city is celebrated and promotes the sustainable food message.
* Support the development of economically viable distribution networks for sustainable food.
* Work with all interests within the city council and members of the Bristol Partnership to reduce food waste across the city.
* Actively make the city more secure in terms of being able to meet its own food demands from as close to the city as possible.
* Encourage community based growing projects, such as community gardens, that increase food self-reliance, improve fitness, contribute to a cleaner environment, and enhance community development.
* Work with community agencies, residents’ groups, businesses and other levels of government to achieve these ambitions.

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