Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK
In the UK, place-based food initiatives, herein “food hubs,” offer a range of economic, social, and/or environmental benefits via the programs, activities and support they offer. Examples of food hubs include food banks, food pantries, social supermarkets, community farms and gardens, and community...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1333 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850284706666381312 |
|---|---|
| author | Gemma Bridge Effie Papargyropoulou Sonja Woodcock Emma Strachan Joanna Rowlands Elizabeth Boniface |
| author_facet | Gemma Bridge Effie Papargyropoulou Sonja Woodcock Emma Strachan Joanna Rowlands Elizabeth Boniface |
| author_sort | Gemma Bridge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In the UK, place-based food initiatives, herein “food hubs,” offer a range of economic, social, and/or environmental benefits via the programs, activities and support they offer. Examples of food hubs include food banks, food pantries, social supermarkets, community farms and gardens, and community cafes. Identifying, monitoring, and communicating the benefits of and areas of improvement for food hubs are important in enabling these organizations to access funding, scale up and/or out, and support their ambitions to enhance community development and promote community-based circular food systems (C-B CFS). However, due to constraints in time, funding, and resources, evaluation of the work of food hubs across the UK is limited to date and does not capture the multidimensional benefits they provide or the impacts they have to achieve a C-B CFS. This paper presents the co-production and application of an impact evaluation tool aiming to support food hubs to capture evidence of the benefits they provide, and areas where additional benefits can be achieved across four domains: (a) sustainability and resilience; (b) health and wellbeing; (c) access and demand for healthy, local food; and (d) food security and economy. The tool, available freely online, was implemented at 10 diverse food hubs in Leeds, UK, to capture their activities and impact. Participating food hubs agreed that the tool offers a comprehensive yet practical method of evidencing the impact of their activities. The evidence captured using the tool could strengthen both individual PBFIs and the wider community food sector. By demonstrating their contributions to national and global priorities in health, food security, and sustainability, this evidence supports advocacy for greater policy recognition and funding. After assessing the implementation of the too across multiple PBFIs, we found how structured impact monitoring could enhance operational resilience, inform strategic planning, and reinforce the case for systemic support of C-B CFS.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-98eb1a2aff184a5ebfa7dc579e44aa99 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2152-0801 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| spelling | doaj-art-98eb1a2aff184a5ebfa7dc579e44aa992025-08-20T01:47:29ZengLyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food SystemsJournal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development2152-08012025-02-0114210.5304/jafscd.2025.142.004Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UKGemma Bridge0Effie Papargyropoulou1Sonja Woodcock2Emma Strachan3Joanna Rowlands4Elizabeth Boniface5University of LeedsUniversity of LeedsFoodWise, ZestLeeds City CouncilLeeds City CouncilLeeds City Council In the UK, place-based food initiatives, herein “food hubs,” offer a range of economic, social, and/or environmental benefits via the programs, activities and support they offer. Examples of food hubs include food banks, food pantries, social supermarkets, community farms and gardens, and community cafes. Identifying, monitoring, and communicating the benefits of and areas of improvement for food hubs are important in enabling these organizations to access funding, scale up and/or out, and support their ambitions to enhance community development and promote community-based circular food systems (C-B CFS). However, due to constraints in time, funding, and resources, evaluation of the work of food hubs across the UK is limited to date and does not capture the multidimensional benefits they provide or the impacts they have to achieve a C-B CFS. This paper presents the co-production and application of an impact evaluation tool aiming to support food hubs to capture evidence of the benefits they provide, and areas where additional benefits can be achieved across four domains: (a) sustainability and resilience; (b) health and wellbeing; (c) access and demand for healthy, local food; and (d) food security and economy. The tool, available freely online, was implemented at 10 diverse food hubs in Leeds, UK, to capture their activities and impact. Participating food hubs agreed that the tool offers a comprehensive yet practical method of evidencing the impact of their activities. The evidence captured using the tool could strengthen both individual PBFIs and the wider community food sector. By demonstrating their contributions to national and global priorities in health, food security, and sustainability, this evidence supports advocacy for greater policy recognition and funding. After assessing the implementation of the too across multiple PBFIs, we found how structured impact monitoring could enhance operational resilience, inform strategic planning, and reinforce the case for systemic support of C-B CFS. http://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1333food hubsfood banksfood securitycircular economycommunity developmentsustainability |
| spellingShingle | Gemma Bridge Effie Papargyropoulou Sonja Woodcock Emma Strachan Joanna Rowlands Elizabeth Boniface Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development food hubs food banks food security circular economy community development sustainability |
| title | Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK |
| title_full | Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK |
| title_fullStr | Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK |
| title_full_unstemmed | Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK |
| title_short | Co-designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the UK |
| title_sort | co designing an impact evaluation tool for food hubs in the uk |
| topic | food hubs food banks food security circular economy community development sustainability |
| url | http://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1333 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gemmabridge codesigninganimpactevaluationtoolforfoodhubsintheuk AT effiepapargyropoulou codesigninganimpactevaluationtoolforfoodhubsintheuk AT sonjawoodcock codesigninganimpactevaluationtoolforfoodhubsintheuk AT emmastrachan codesigninganimpactevaluationtoolforfoodhubsintheuk AT joannarowlands codesigninganimpactevaluationtoolforfoodhubsintheuk AT elizabethboniface codesigninganimpactevaluationtoolforfoodhubsintheuk |