Prysor Angling Association is a voluntary organisation that manages the fishing on Llyn Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd. Llyn Traws is a trout and pike fishing venue, with a fleet of boats, that regularly hosts international fishing competitions and the Welsh fly-fishing team trials.
The Association also owns a clubhouse on the lake shore, managing it as a community venue and sub-letting to a popular café and fishing tackle shop, both hiring local employees.
Having previously rented the building, the Association bought it in 2024 to help safeguard its future as a community asset. A key driver was the building’s increasingly unsustainable energy bills and the wish to install a more viable energy system that could also deliver community benefit.
Project approach
The chosen option was a solar panel installation, to take advantage of the building’s large south-facing roof, accompanied by battery storage and EV charge points to help address the lack of charging infrastructure in the area.
Funded in part by Ynni Cymru, alongside Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri, Gwynedd Council, and Nuclear Restoration Services, and using £85,000 of its own funds, the Association managed the installation of a Smart Local Energy System or SLES comprising a 49.02kWpeak solar PV system, a 14.4kWh battery energy storage system and four EV charge points (two 60kW rapid and two 22kW fast).
Impact
The renewable energy system has reduced the clubhouse bills from a peak of around £2,000 per month to just the standing charge of c£50 during the summer, freeing up much-needed resources for other activities. This includes refurbishing the clubhouse and supporting continued employment of three community members to manage the fishing on the reservoir.
The café’s owners have also felt the benefits of the new energy system. The café is thriving, employing a core team as well as seasonal workers, all from the local community. It is popular with those visiting the lake to fish as well as local community visitors and tourists. Through prioritising local seasonal produce, the café is also supporting local suppliers.
Challenges
Installation of the solar panels was straightforward, although it has been more challenging to connect all the SLES’s different component parts due to the number of different bodies that need to be involved – some of which the Association does not have a direct relationship with.
Prysor Angling Association itself has no paid staff and the whole process, from applying for the grant to signing off on the installation and completing reporting, has been done by volunteers, requiring a significant commitment of both time and energy. Committee members were able to bring transferable skills from professional roles to assist with this.
Next steps
This is only one part of the Association’s energy vision. It currently owns 32 fishing boats that are used on the lake and stored in an agricultural shed. Future plans include replacing the current petrol motors on these boats with electric engines that could be powered by additional solar panels located on the shed’s roof. Bi-directional charging will also be explored so that the engines, when not in use, could store energy to charge other devices or provide energy back to the grid.
The Association is also keen to explore the potential to run a subsidised community EV minibus, to help local groups overcome current transport challenges. As Rhys Llywelyn, Chair of the Association, explains, although reducing energy costs was a key driver behind the project, equally important has been “having a vision” of what a long-term community-owned energy asset could provide for the local area.
For Rhys, this has been reinforced by seeing the impact on the local community when the building was forced to close during Covid, and, in contrast, more recently, seeing how much it delivers as an attraction for visitors and locals, especially at its peak season during the summer months.
Rhys’s advice to others wanting to start a similar journey is to keep the end goal in mind but take it one step at a time – bearing in mind that although securing initial funding may be difficult, it then opens the door to other sources.
“Have a vision and then break it down into manageable chunks. Once you get one lot of funding, others tend to fall into place.” – Rhys Llywelyn, Chair of the Prysor Angling Association
The Menai Science Park (M-SParc), based on Anglesey, is Wales’ first dedicated science park. Part of Bangor University, it opened in 2019 to foster innovation and entrepreneurship through offering laboratory and office space, business support and links with universities and research institutes.
M-SParc’s aim is to provide a lasting legacy of sustainable economic growth for North Wales, helping local communities benefit from the low-carbon technologies and infrastructure emerging around them. The approach is rooted in the area’s culture and geography and the park is a key part of its foundational economy.
The vision
In 2021, M-SParc’s Egni team was formed to oversee decarbonisation. As the understanding and definition of Net Zero expanded however, so too did the team’s remit – moving beyond just low-carbon energy to thinking around engagement, influence and how to involve others.
As Debbie Jones, Low Carbon Innovation Manager and project lead, explains:
“We were giving lots of decarb advice to SMEs and wanted to take the same journey ourselves. Although we have a massive asset in the building, we operate independently of Bangor University and have many of the same challenges as SMEs in terms of budget pressures and keeping things going. By being transparent in our Net Zero journey, we can help others.”
The team set a goal to not only become the first UK science park to reach Net Zero, but to become an exemplar for other SMEs to follow.
Project goals
Having already trebled the park’s initial solar capacity of 40kW and improved energy efficiency through use of thermal imaging cameras and the ‘Dim the Spark’ behaviour change campaign, M-SParc received an Ynni Cymru grant in 2024 to:
Install ten rooftop air source heat pumps (270 kW) to decarbonise the heating and hot water systems
Add an additional 35 kW to the solar PV array
Enhance the Building Management System (BMS) to improve data granularity and transparency
Act as an exemplar to support others on the Net Zero journey
Impact
By April 2025, all installations were complete, including the enhanced BMS to allow more efficient data collection and monitoring. As a result, Scope 1 emissions were brought to zero and Scope 2 emissions were also reduced.
The team are now on track to reach their Net Zero target in advance of 2030 with an 86% reduction achieved to date.
The Park had also lived up to its mission for collaboration and innovation with several aspects of the project developed through tenant collaboration and local labour and supply chains used throughout.
Insights
“The deeper you go into Net Zero, the more data you need.”
As well as optimising M-SParc’s own energy use, the enhanced BMS will also support the wider engagement needed to reach net zero – in this case potentially metering tenant energy use so that efficiencies can be incentivised through direct charging and gamification.
The team also recognised the need for cross-organisation awareness and buy-in from the start of the decarbonisation process. Providing Carbon Literacy training to staff and tenants had been one of the tools employed to create shared understanding of the climate crisis and the need for sustainable energy use.
Finally, despite the scale and ambition of the project, the team has sought to ensure that it does not detract from other sustainability priorities. Initiatives such as such as tree-planting and habitat creation have also been integrated.
Challenges
Inevitably, the journey undertaken by the M-SParc team was not all plain sailing. The challenges included:
Location – close proximity to residential areas and the A55 had ruled out wind turbines at an early stage, leading to the focus on solar PV and heat pumps
Grid capacity – the original vision of sharing energy with the local village or industrial park next door had to be put on hold due to grid connection cost and waiting times
Finance – the size of a loan needed for heat pump installation meant pay-back times that were too challenging for an SME to commit to. The grant was therefore essential and brought additional value in that the group could focus on an integrated system combining renewable energy generation with decarbonised heat, energy storage, zero carbon transport and smart controls, rather than individual technologies in isolation.
Timeframe – project delivery took place within a very short timeframe. Having an already-scoped plan, existing procurement frameworks and lean management structures alongside a period of fine weather helped.
Technical complexity – this was an ambitious project. The complexity of adding to previous solar arrays and installing heat pumps was helped by the support and know-how of a delivery group, led by Rhodri Daniel, Low Carbon Innovation Officer, that included many M-SParc tenants.
What’s Next?
As hoped, the Net Zero journey has already sparked collaboration with tenants and others in the foundational economy, and the team are actively seeking more. A potential roof-mounted turbine, underground wiring, additional sensors, internship opportunities, and local school engagement are all currently being explored.
Also being considered are:
Battery storage – a 1MW battery would enable M-Sparc, and a second building currently under development, to be completely energy self-sufficient
At 86% towards Net Zero, can hard-to-abate emissions be offset through biodiversity gains?
Advice
As well as achieving their own target the M-SParc team are also keen to share their learning around decarbonisation and the journey to Net Zero as widely as possible to businesses and communities, sharing impact, pitfalls and successes.
In terms of advice for others undertaking a similar project, the team found that, in their case, preparedness was essential so that plans could be implemented as soon as the funding opportunity was identified.
Although challenging in terms of resources and capacity, Debbie’s advice would be:
“Take the project to the very edge of what’s possible before the grant – and commit to the plan.”
The Foundational Economy was one of the vogue economic policy ideas of the fifth Senedd (2016-2021). It had many parents. The works of the Foundational Economy Collective gave it a sound academic basis. A group of politicians – Lee Waters (who later led on the concept in government), Jeremy Miles, Vikki Howells, and the late Hefin David – brought a debate to the Senedd calling for the Welsh Government to develop a strategy to ‘maximise the impact of the Foundational Economy’. Organisations such as the FSB and Wales’ think-tanks also developed their own thoughts on the concept. And organisations across civic life in Wales sought to become a part of a movement that appeared to be the next big idea.
So, what exactly is the Foundational Economy? At Cynnal Cymru we’ve worked with the Welsh Government to help define their response to this question in developing a new ‘Mission Statement’ for their work on the Foundational Economy. The Welsh Government says the following in its Mission Statement:
“The term ‘foundational economy’ refers to the sectors of the economy that provide the goods and services that underpin everyday life. The Welsh Government is focused on the organisations and people in these sectors, as well as the quality and accessibility of the goods and services they provide.
The foundational economy is more than just infrastructure, employment and output. It is also citizens’ sense of control and belonging in their community. These sectors are by their nature immediate to people’s surroundings, and so they are vital social as well as physical infrastructure.”
There are consistent debates about what constitutes the Foundational Economy or a ‘Foundational Economy approach’. Some have argued for a descriptive definition – that is, the Foundational Economy is a description of certain sectors of the economy that underpin everyday life – for example care and health services, housing, food, and transport. The Welsh Government, for its part, has a strategic focus on the following sectors in the Foundational Economy:
care and health services, including social care and childcare
management of social housing
construction of residential and commercial buildings
energy and utilities
food
high street retail and services
tourism
public transport
Others have advocated for this to be developed into a more complex ‘analytical’ approach, introducing a ‘three-pillar concept of foundational liveability’, arguing that the liveability concept depends on the alignment of the three pillars of residual income (that is, income left over after spend on foundational goods and services), social infrastructure, and essential services. Whilst less easily communicable than the original concept, the advantage of this approach is that it takes us from the ‘what’ of the Foundational Economy concept to the ‘why’ and ‘how’.
Still more have advocated merger or absorption of the Foundational Economy concept with concepts that have a partial overlap, such as Community Wealth Building.
At Cynnal Cymru, we believe that a continued focus on the Foundational Economy is a welcome one, and we’re pleased to be working with the Welsh Government on this agenda. Here’s why.
Analysis by the Welsh Government finds that the Foundational Economy is a significant part of the Welsh economy. Over 60% of all Welsh headquartered businesses are within foundational sectors, and 51% of employees of Welsh VAT registered businesses are, too. It accounts for 47% of all turnover in Wales.
A geographic analysis of the Foundational Economy in Wales demonstrates the strength of the concept. As the Welsh Government’s Mission Statement states, the “The term ‘foundational economy’ refers to the sectors of the economy that provide the goods and services that underpin everyday life.”
Another way of looking at this could be ‘if you stripped out all non-essential economic activity, what would be left?’ Only that which is necessary to sustain life. The regional analysis of Wales demonstrates this in the real world. Some of the more rural areas see the vast majority (over 70%) of their businesses being placed in the Foundational Economy. Where there is additional economy activity – ‘non-essential’ or tradeable manufacturing and services, for example – the proportion is still high, but lower.
I should state that this economic activity is only ‘non-essential’ in the sense that it does not contribute to the immediate sustenance of life. It is, of course, a vital underpinning to wider quality of life, providing economic growth and good quality jobs.
The Foundational Economy, then, is a solid concept for understanding the economy around us. One Lee Waters quote from an Institute of Welsh Affairs piece stands out – “Of course we should continue to defend our tradable competitive economy, but we must pay more attention to the foundations of our economies”.
For Cynnal Cymru, this is an important framing that underpins the emphasis of governments focusing on the Foundational Economy. The ‘tradeable competitive economy’ can provide good quality jobs, has the potential to bring money into Wales, and can lower poverty rates through these mechanisms. Underpinning the idea of the Foundational Economy is that governments have focused on attracting charismatic sectors (with Artificial Intelligence being the latest focus for policy makers across the world) and paid little attention to the Foundational Economy sectors. A focus on the technologies of the future is important, and Wales should be doing what it can to reap the benefits. But work on these sectors doesn’t have to come at the expense of a focus on the Foundational Economy.
As the Welsh Government analysis shows, we can’t afford to ignore the Foundational Economy. It is too dominant in too many parts of Wales, and the ‘mundanity’ of some of these sectors has caused it to be a less interesting focus for many than charismatic sectors that employ far fewer people.
The working lives of people in the Foundational Economy matter just as much. And often they are defined by low wages, insecure hours, and non-unionised jobs. The Bevan Foundation undertook a research project into Fair Work in the Foundational Economy (with a focus on social care, hospitality, and retail) and found that working conditions were poor. These sectors found ‘a wide prevalence of comparatively low pay… where the majority of workers do not earn a real Living Wage’, ‘above average rates of part-time working’, and ‘low rates of in-work training’.
This makes a focus on the Foundational Economy the perfect partner for the Welsh Government’s ambition to raise levels of Fair Work in Wales – and the Foundational Economy and Fair Work (predominantly through the Living Wage) are the dual focuses of Cynnal Cymru’s Fair Economy team.
The Welsh Government has now published clear objectives in its Foundational Economy work:
Identify and support opportunities for more jobs, better jobs, greener jobs and promote fair work, including good pay, representation, security, and opportunity to progress.
Increase ‘household liveability’ by facilitating rising wages through promotion schemes such as Real Living Wage, helping increase the affordability of foundational essentials to support universal access to high quality goods and services.
Build local supply chains to keep people, skills and wealth in Wales.
Contribute towards addressing the climate and nature emergencies.
Encourage collaborative innovation and experimentation to improve basic goods and services, especially where these build resilient social infrastructure, such as through cooperative and community-owned projects.
These objectives form the basis for real action on the Foundational Economy. The people working in these sectors deserve to have good working lives, can make a real contribution to sustainability aims, and deliver services that all of us rely on.
Examples of the changes the Foundational Economy approach has made are abundant – and there is more to do. For example, Hywel Dda’s ‘grow your own’ approach to tackling recruitment problems by allowing alternative routes into healthcare employment, focused on building skills in the local community, can be spread to other health boards.
The Foundational Economy team’s direct project support has also created new opportunities. For example, it helped set up the Welsh Veg in Schools Programme. Prior to the project, over 94% of vegetables used in primary schools in Wales were sourced from outside of Wales, often frozen and non-organic. The project, beginning with just one grower, has now grown into a vibrant, multi-stakeholder project. By 2024, 8 growers had actively supplied 14 tonnes of organic Welsh veg for use in school meals. This was across 219 schools in six local authority areas. So far in 2025, the number of growers has expanded to 15, with 12 local authorities engaged. This means that approximately 1 million portions of local, organic veg will be served to school children in Wales as a direct result of the Foundational Economy project.
In housing, up to sixty-four local contractors have been supported to secure accreditations required to deliver retrofit work for homes across Wales. Based on feedback from the contractors, the funding will lead to over three hundred and fifty new jobs through the contractors securing additional work.
This is enabling local businesses to grow through securing more work, and creating new, skilled jobs. Delivery of the housing retrofit can be accelerated through additional contractor capacity, enabling residents to live in warmer, more energy efficient homes. This will lead to greater residual income, enable people to live healthier lives and reduce the climate impact of our housing stock.
The Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy programme has already supported the Living Wage accreditation process for major anchor employers in Wales such as local authorities, and there are exciting signs that this will expand in the future.
From a Living Wage for workers in Wales, to building skills and creating jobs for local people, to healthy, Welsh-grown food on children’s plates. All this and more has all stemmed from the Welsh Government’s focus on the Foundational Economy.
The working lives of people in the Foundational Economy and the services they provide for all of us are worthy of concerted focus. From academic concept to on-the-ground delivery, the Foundational Economy concept has delivered and is set to deliver more. We should take it into the seventh Senedd with pride.
Harry Thompson is Head of Fair Economy at Cynnal Cymru. Cynnal Cymru’s Fair Economy team has a dual focus – spreading the Living Wage across Wales, and supporting the Foundational Economy.
At Cynnal Cymru, we are getting ourselves ready for Living Wage Week – always one of the busiest times in our Fair Economy team’s calendar.
We’re the Living Wage Foundation’s accreditation partner for Wales – in essence, that means we host Living Wage Wales in-house. Our Fair Economy team supports employers across Wales to become accredited Living Wage Employers. We also work with the Welsh Government on their Foundational Economy agenda – and there is an interlink between these two programmes. One of the Welsh Government’s objectives on the Foundational Economy is to help facilitate rising wages in the ‘foundational’ sectors, including through promoting the real Living Wage.
The Living Wage campaign is one of the most successful campaigns of the past quarter of a century. The campaign for a Living Wage has cross party political support and is a movement of independent businesses, organisations and citizens who believe a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.
The movement began at a meeting in East London, when the grassroots organisation Citizens UK – the home of community organising – brought together churches, mosques, schools and other local institutions to talk about the issues affecting their communities. One issue came up again and again – low pay.
The Living Wage campaign was launched, and also called on employers to pay their outsourced cleaners, caterers and security guards working a wage that met their everyday needs.
Supporters held rallies and charity music gigs. A big march down the Mile End road called for all staff working in East London hospitals to be paid a Living Wage. These hospitals were among the first employers to join our movement – followed by local schools and big City firms.
In 2011, the UK Living Wage rate was launched. And in 2016, Cynnal Cymru became the accreditation partner in Wales. We have worked with a range of employers and individuals who have been willing to go above and beyond to support the Living Wage in Wales. Cardiff Council, Cardiff Business School, Welsh Government, Citizens UK, and too many other partners to name on our steering groups have donated time and effort to supporting the movement.
So where are we on the Living Wage in Wales, and how much more potential is there in this programme?
For starters – we have nearly 600 accredited Living Wage Employers in Wales now, who collectively employ 160,000 employees. This is rising all the time. We’ve supported leading lights from the private, public, and third sectors to accredit – for example, Admiral, Principality Building Society, and Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Bridgend local authorities.
We often talk about a ‘delivery gap’ in devolution – how do well-meaning frameworks and strategies become on-the-ground delivery? We’re very happy to say that we are playing a role in bridging this gap.
To date, our running total is 21,000 ‘uplifts’ to the real Living Wage directly at the point of accreditation from still-accredited employers – that is, as a direct result of this programme employers have lifted over 21,000 workers off the statutory minimums and on to a wage floor that is based on independent research into the real cost of living. These 21,000 workers receive a pay rise each year, also based on the cost of living.
In times when we talk about a cost of living crisis, this is really important. We know that the costs of essentials such as food and housing have increased significantly over recent years. Living Wage Employers are doing their part to ensure wages keep pace with the cost of living, even in challenging times.
Living Wage Employers don’t just take care of their directly employed workers, either. Our accreditations require in-scope contractors to be paid the real Living Wage. Security and cleaning staff are often outsourced – but our accreditations don’t allow them to be left behind. The movement started with these workers asking for fair pay, and every Living Wage Employer ensures these workers receive the Living Wage, too. This requirement also allows accreditations at major employers like local authorities to have an impact down their supply chains, across the local economy.
The Living Wage movement’s impact is even further than this. Academics at Cardiff Business School have uncovered a phenomenon called the ‘Shadow Living Wage’. This is where major employers peg their minimum pay rates to the real Living Wage, but don’t accredit. They won’t show up in our impact statistics, but it’s not a coincidence the minimum pay rates at supermarkets often very closely mirror the real Living Wage. This is often as a result of trade unions demanding – and winning – the Living Wage as a minimum in negotiations with these employers.
Behind every one of these rises to the Living Wage is a human being and a human story. One typical story that always stays with me is the impact on working parents. One social care worker in Wales told us that he previously had to work multiple jobs – leaving the house before his children had gotten up in the morning, and coming back after they had gone to bed. The introduction of the Living Wage at one of his employers had allowed him to only work one job, and to spend time with his children in the evenings. Another worker in Powys told us that the introduction of the Living Wage had allowed her to save and buy a house, something she would not have otherwise been able to do – transforming her future. There are now more than 21,000 of these stories across Wales.
As proud as we are of this work, there is still so much more to do. The Wellbeing of Wales report published this month found that 33% of workers in Wales are still paid less than a Living Wage.
Welsh Government support is essential to what we do, and has been instrumental in delivering these pay rises for low paid workers. There is still more we can do in the public policy space, though.
The Scottish Government’s ‘Fair Work First’ policy requires everyone in receipt of public sector grants to pay the Living Wage. We should look at emulating this in Wales. After all, there is only so much money to go around – why should we use it supporting low pay, instead of encouraging pay rises for workers? Similarly, we should examine how they have encouraged the Living Wage through procurement contracts in Scotland. There are now around 4,000 Living Wage Employers in Scotland, and they operate in a very similar devolved context to Wales. We should be looking at the trail they have blazed and be seeking to do the same.
Supporting the Living Wage is something that all of us can do. We have steering groups across Wales – including a Cardiff group and a South West Wales group. We’re looking to support people to establish groups in other areas, too. We have major organisations such as local authorities, universities and the Future Generations Commissioner’s Office represented on these groups. However, we also have bakeries, markets, and other small employers on board – the only real qualification is for you to be enthusiastic about the campaign and be willing to give up your time.
So, as we look towards Living Wage Week – the Living Wage movement in Wales has achieved a huge amount, and Wales is a better place for it. But with a third of people in Wales earning less than a Living Wage, there is so much more to do. Get in touch and be a part of it.
Launched in 2023, the Larder Cymru – Welsh Food for Schools project is a pioneering initiative led by Menter Môn to increase the use of Welsh food products in public sector school meals. With a focus on primary schools, the project aims to strengthen local supply chains, supporting and celebrating Welsh producers, thereby boosting the foundational economy while enhancing the nutritional and cultural value of school meals across Wales.
“The aim of Larder Cymru Welsh food for schools program initially was to essentially increase the procurement of Welsh products by the public sector in Wales.” – David Wylie, Menter Môn
Background and vision
The project was initially designed to support five local authorities: Cardiff, Caerphilly, Wrexham, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Anglesey, to embed more Welsh produce into school menus. Over time, it expanded to include three more: Powys, Denbighshire, and Conwy. The vision was clear: to create a more resilient, sustainable, and locally rooted food system for schools.
Funded by the Welsh Government’s Backing Local Firms Fund, Larder Cymru exemplifies how systematic change in foundational sectors such as food helps to boost Wales’s Foundational Economy. Localising procurement practices promotes economic development for Welsh businesses, enhances environmental sustainability by minimising supply chain emissions, and incorporates cultural identity through the celebration of Welsh food.
“By creating that circular economy approach where you’re actually putting public money back into the Welsh economy, you’re helping scale up local food businesses, which in turn is creating good and fair jobs for people in the local community.” – David Wylie, Menter Môn
Growth and progress
The project’s approach was tailored and collaborative. Each local authority received bespoke support, including:
Reviews of procurement frameworks,
Menu analysis
Hosting supplier engagement
One of the standout strategies was the facilitation of procurement roundtables in North Wales, where local authorities explored joint purchasing opportunities to achieve economies of scale. This led to tangible outcomes, such as Wrexham transitioning from an English supplier to the Welsh-based Harlech for frozen goods.
Face-to-face engagement was a cornerstone of the project’s success. Larder Cymru highlighted the importance of connecting the entire supply chain through in-person meetings with procurement teams, chefs, and suppliers, building mutual understanding and trust.
Challenges and lessons learned
Despite its successes, the project faced several challenges. Time constraints and delays in local authority processes, such as survey rollouts and menu redesigns, often slowed progress. For example, a parent survey in Cardiff faced technical issues and was delayed by nearly a year, impacting the timing of final project reporting.
Another challenge was working with external stakeholders & suppliers, which hindered the ability to review menus in some cases. However, the team adapted by supporting schools through grants for cooking equipment and garden tools, demonstrating the project’s flexibility.
Impact and looking ahead
The project has had a significant impact on not only procurement practices and community engagement but also the amount of Welsh food being supplied. For instance, Caerphilly Council doubled its spending on Welsh produce after engaging with Larder Cymru to identify additional Welsh suppliers. Furthermore, a redesign of the primary school menu to highlight local suppliers and provide imagery has further increased pupil uptake and therefore spend with suppliers. This new primary school menu features Welsh dragon icons and professional food photography to showcase what the meals look like. This model inspired similar initiatives in Wrexham, where Welsh dragon symbols were added next to the food, and a supplier map was included on menus to clearly indicate the origin of the food.
The initiative also sparked broader interest with its work across multiple local authorities, with suppliers like Castle Howell and Harlech gaining visibility at national events such as LACA. The project’s influence extended beyond schools, with independent Welsh businesses reaching out to explore new procurement opportunities.
Looking ahead, the team plans to pilot innovative ideas such as salad bars inspired by Swedish schools and expand support for the fruit and vegetable supply chain. A new staff member with a marketing background will help bring menu development in-house, increasing efficiency and sustainability.
Conclusion
Larder Cymru has proven to be a transformative project, not only increasing the presence of Welsh produce in schools but also fostering collaboration, innovation, and community pride. Its adaptable model, rooted in local engagement and strategic partnerships, offers a blueprint for future food system initiatives in Wales and beyond.
With continued support and long-term funding, the project has the potential to scale further, embedding Welsh food culture into the daily lives of schoolchildren and strengthening the foundational economy across the nation.
Led by Carmarthenshire County Council, the Future Generations Menu project emerged from a desire to address the economic and environmental consequences of relying on imported food in Welsh Schools. With support from the Welsh Government’s Backing Local Firms Fund, the team set out to create a replicable, open-source menu framework that could be adopted by local authorities beyond Carmarthenshire, across Wales. This menu would be aligned with a sustainability framework developed by the team, incorporating Welsh seasonality and produce grown on their own farm.
“Our original aim was to reduce the economic impact of imported foods and to bring that value into the Welsh economy.” – Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council
The Approach
The project took a collaborative and multi-layered approach. To redesign the menu, Chefs were commissioned to work directly with schools, engaging parents, catering staff, and teachers in a co-design process. Using a sustainability framework, the menus were ensured to align with Welsh seasonality and local farm production. Waste monitoring systems were put in place with hardware to collect baseline data of what was being wasted, enabling future comparisons once the new menu was implemented. The farm itself was also adapted to align its crop plan with the school calendar, a novel approach that ensured produce availability matched educational needs. Communications played a key role, with digital and physical assets created to raise awareness and bring together stakeholders from across the food and farming sectors.
Early outcomes and impact
Although implementation was delayed, early analysis suggests the project will have a significant impact. The project is predicted to see an anticipated 80% reduction in the carbon footprint of school meals, largely due to replacing imported foods with locally sourced alternatives and reducing meat content by 30%. This shift is expected to redirect public spending directly to local Welsh producers.
Beyond the quantitative outcomes, catering teams have become more engaged with the principles of sustainable food and have begun to understand their role in delivering on strategic objectives such as the Well-being of Future Generations Act. This cultural shift has been one of the most encouraging signs of progress.
“The softer impact has been around engaging with catering teams… helping them understand the importance of sustainable food.” – Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council
Evaluation
The project is now entering its proof-of-concept phase, with the new menu set to launch in three schools from September 2025. Evaluation will focus on the carbon and economic impact, food waste reduction, and meal uptake, using data from systems like ParentPay. The team is also planning to publish the menu and crop plan to support knowledge exchange and inspire other local authorities to procure from their local growers. One of the most promising signs is that the catering teams are continuing with the project beyond the initial funding.
“One of the big impacts is that the catering team are running with it and carrying on with it post-funding,” – Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council
Challenges and learnings
One of the most significant challenges was the implementation gap between sustainability ideals and practical delivery. Catering teams and teachers often had conflicting perceptions of meal uptake and food waste, and there was a lack of reliable data to support either view. Communication between stakeholders was also a major hurdle, requiring outsourced support to improve engagement with parents and staff.
Operational issues, such as children selectively eating parts of their meals or choosing which days to participate, also impacted nutritional balance and waste. The team is now exploring new catering models, including consistent meal service and weekly sign-ups, to address these issues.
Impact on the Foundational Economy of Wales
The Future Gen Menu project directly supports the foundational economy by strengthening local supply chains, retaining jobs, and increasing the resilience of Welsh food systems. By aligning crop production with school needs and encouraging cooperative models among growers, the project is creating a more sustainable and locally rooted food infrastructure. The team is also working to re-establish an online food platform for local producers, aiming to create a cooperatively owned social enterprise that supports distribution and access.
Looking ahead
Building on all the knowledge gathered and data collected from the project, the next steps begin with the full roll-out for the Future Generations Menu from September 2025. The project then aims to continue with a gradual expansion to other primary schools over the course of three years. After which, the development of a secondary school menu and publication of the Future Gen Menu, alongside the crop plan, will be distributed for wider use. The aim is to share knowledge and tools widely across Wales to different local authorities to encourage continued collaboration between local authority procurement and local Welsh growers.
Conclusion
The Future Gen Menu project is a powerful example of how sustainability, education, and local economic development can be integrated into public sector food provision. With strong early outcomes and a clear roadmap for expansion, it offers a replicable model for other regions in Wales and beyond. The project’s success lies not only in its innovative approach but also in its ability to foster collaboration, shift cultural norms, and deliver tangible benefits to the foundational economy.
The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) is a Welsh Government funded initiative that helps businesses across Wales build a stronger, more skilled workforce. Employers can apply for funding to cover up to 50% of the accredited training costs, with a maximum value of £50,000 per application. Whether you’re looking to fill skills gaps, retain staff, or attract new talent, the Flexible Skills Programme can help you invest in your team’s future. This funding is available to employers operating in any industry across Wales. To be eligible, your business must be based in Wales, be financially solvent and commit to releasing staff to complete the training by the end of March 2026.
Priority sectors it covers include net zero, tourism and hospitality, digital and exporting skills.
The Welsh Government is building a stronger, fairer, greener country, with an economy based on fair work, sustainability and the sectors of the future.
We help businesses, the third sector, public sector bodies and research organisations to innovate and create new products and services. This can help increase commercialisation, improve skills and ensure Wales remains competitive and strives towards carbon-free in the future.
SMART Flexible Innovation Support (FIS) is open to any organisation wishing to engage in Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I), including the third sector, local authorities and health boards.
In partnership with Size of Wales, the initiative also tackles climate change by working with students to design deforestation-free, locally sourced menus for Monmouthshire schools. Through a combination of online and in-person lessons, the project is helping children develop lifelong skills around food, cooking, and sustainability.
Project goals
The Cookalong Clwb aims to:
Teach children essential cooking and budgeting skills.
Increase knowledge of healthy, locally sourced foods.
Empower children to make informed food choices and reduce food waste.
Raise awareness of climate change and the importance of sustainable sourcing.
“If children leave primary school knowing how to cook, budget, and make healthier food choices, they are set up for life. They’ll know how to feed their families, and they’ll have the confidence to make better decisions about food, whether it’s cooking or shopping.” – Angharad Underwood, the Cookalong Clwb
The project also works with disabled teams, teaching them how to shop and cook independently, promoting autonomy and self-reliance.
Impact and outcomes
The Cookalong Clwb has already made significant strides in fostering positive, long-lasting changes in children’s lives. Through both online and in-person sessions, the program has cultivated:
Kitchen Confidence: Children have learned to chop, cook, and manage the kitchen with sharp knives and hot pans, giving them practical skills that will last a lifetime.
Waste Reduction: Kids are now mindful of food waste, with tips like reviving lettuce stalks or broccoli stems by placing them in water for ten minutes.
Family Engagement: Children share their newfound skills with family members, subtly shifting family dynamics and sparking discussions about healthier cooking and reducing food waste.
Sustainability Advocacy: The collaboration with Size of Wales has inspired children to advocate for sustainable, deforestation-free school meals, with the Monmouthshire County Council committing to becoming the world’s first deforestation-free county.
Additionally, the project has inspired some children to pursue vocational qualifications, opening doors to careers they hadn’t previously considered.
Realisations and insights
While initially focused on food poverty, the project uncovered that socioeconomic status doesn’t necessarily correlate with cooking skills. As one participant reflects:
“The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to buy ready-made meals. The less wealthy, rely on food banks and ultra-processed foods. What we realised is that kids of all backgrounds are lacking kitchen skills.”– Angharad Underwood, the Cookalong Clwb
Another key realisation is the widespread fear around cooking and food preparation, often due to a lack of exposure or confidence. The project is working to break these barriers, especially when it comes to managing the kitchen environment and understanding food’s real value.
Challenges faced
The main challenge has been securing consistent funding to ensure long-term sustainability. Without reliable resources, expanding the project into more schools and reaching a larger audience remains a significant hurdle. As emphasised: “You can’t charge for this. Schools don’t have budgets, and we need the funding to continue delivering these lessons.”
Future plans and vision
Looking ahead, the project plans to:
Expand: Reach more schools across Monmouthshire and Wales, providing cooking lessons to a broader audience.
Teacher Training: Equip teachers with the tools and confidence to deliver cooking lessons within the curriculum.
Community Kitchens: Explore the creation of community kitchens where families can gather, cook together, and share meals.
Sustainability Focus: Continue advocating for deforestation-free, sustainable school menus and sourcing locally and ethically grown produce.
“We are excited to be growing veg for schools because it’s important that children have nutritious food and know where it comes from. Healthy food, healthy children, healthy Wales.” — Geraint Evans, Welsh Grower
Introduction
The Welsh Veg in Schools initiative is a pioneering project that aims to increase the production and consumption of organic Welsh-grown vegetables by supplying them directly to primary schools. By aligning local food production with public sector procurement, the initiative offers a powerful example of how sustainable food systems can support health, education, and the environment, while strengthening local economies.
Launched with support from the Backing Local Firms Fund, the project brings together farmers, distributors, policymakers, and educators to deliver fresh, organic produce to school meals across Wales creating meaningful connections between children and the food they eat.
Background and vision
At the start of this project, an overwhelming 94% of vegetables used in primary schools in Wales were sourced from outside the country, often frozen and non-organic. The Welsh Veg in Schools project set out to change that by:
Increasing local organic vegetable production.
Creating new markets for Welsh growers.
Promoting sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
Supporting children’s health and food education.
The project is coordinated by Food Sense Wales, in collaboration with Castell Howell (Wales’ largest food distributor) and Farming Connect Horticulture, run by Lantra. These partners are part of a wider network of growers and stakeholders working to create a fairer, more resilient food system in Wales.
Growth and progress
What began three years ago with just one grower has now grown into a vibrant, multi-stakeholder project. By 2024:
8 growers were actively supplying schools.
14 tonnes of organic Welsh veg were used in school meals.
The project reached 219 schools across 6 local authority areas – Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Powys, Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan.
400 children visited four farms enabling them to connect directly with the land and the farmers growing their food.
By 2025, the initiative has scaled to:
15 local growers participating.
12 local authorities engaged.
3 wholesale partners distributing produce across school catering networks.
This expansion means that approximately 1 million portions of local, organic veg will be served to school children in Wales.
Challenges and lessons learned
2023 presented significant challenges:
Delays with funding disrupted planning cycles, misaligning crop production with school meal requirements.
Adverse weather led to reduced yields, impacting supply.
However, these challenges led to valuable learning:
Earlier coordination with local authorities began in late 2023, allowing better crop planning.
More growers were brought on board to build resilience and reduce risk.
Castell Howell’s existing supply chains absorbed surplus produce, avoiding waste.
The Backing Local Firms Fund played a critical role in allowing experimentation, system development, and the formation of new networks. It also opened doors to collaborate with other food projects across Wales.
Impact and looking ahead
The project has proven that a local, organic supply chain for school food is not only possible but desirable. Interest has grown across Wales and beyond, with stakeholders from across the UK contacting the team to learn how to replicate the model in their own regions.
Key highlights to date include:
A shift from imported to local organic veg in school meals.
Creation of alternative income streams for Welsh growers.
Hands-on learning experiences for children, connecting food, farming, and health.
The establishment of a new North Wales growers’ group, expanding the reach of the project across the country.
In April 2025, Food Sense Wales published a series of reports noting the project’s achievements. You can read the various reports by clicking on the relevant links below:
Looking to the future, Food Sense Wales is actively exploring new funding opportunities to grow the project further. The ambition is clear: to bring more Welsh-grown organic produce into more Welsh schools, involving more local authorities, more growers, and more children in the journey toward a sustainable, healthy food system.
Conclusion
The Welsh Veg in Schools project exemplifies how public procurement can drive meaningful change, from farm to fork. It strengthens local economies, supports sustainable farming, and helps young people understand and appreciate where their food comes from. Thanks to the support of the Backing Local Firms Fund, the foundation is set for long-term, scalable success across Wales and beyond.
“Food Hour has been such a success at the school. We’re usually dragging parents in from the playground to join our courses… this was fully booked within an hour of being advertised, and they all turned up! The children and teachers loved getting involved.” — Claire Crockford, Deputy Head, Trelai Primary School
Introduction
The Food Hour project, funded through the Welsh Government’s Backing Local Firms Fund, is a hands-on educational initiative designed to build lifelong food skills and increase food confidence among children and families. Designed in alignment with the new Welsh curriculum, the project integrates cooking, growing, nutrition, and sustainability into everyday learning, nurturing a new generation of informed, confident food citizens.
Building on the success of the nationally recognised Food & Fun programme, Food Hour is the latest innovation delivered in collaboration with Food Sense Wales, Public Health Nutrition and Dietetic Services at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the education catering team at Cardiff Council, made possible by the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy team.
Background: Building on proven success
The Food & Fun pilot began in 2015 as a response to concerns around food insecurity and holiday hunger. Designed to provide nutritious meals, physical activity, and food education during school holidays, the pilot was a major success and has since been adopted as a national programme across Wales.
Inspired by that model, Food Hour was developed to embed food education into the school day, equipping children with the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm to engage with food in healthy, sustainable ways. Additionally, the Food Hour initiative sought to encourage more students to take advantage of the Wales Free School Meal program.
The food hour approach
The Food Hour is a daily, curriculum-aligned programme delivered in primary schools, centred around four core themes:
Nutrition Education
Practical Cooking
Growing Food
Sustainability
Through these themes, pupils explore where their food comes from, how to prepare it, and how to make informed choices, both for their health and the planet. The sessions focus on real-life, practical learning, including:
Cooking and budgeting skills
Seasonal and local food awareness
Growing fruit and vegetables
Sustainable food systems
To support whole-community engagement, the project also includes:
Staff training for school and catering teams
Family engagement sessions such as “cook and create” events
Take-home recipe kits and training opportunities for parents to build a home-school food connection
Early outcomes and impact
The pilot phase has reached 210 Year 5 pupils across six primary schools, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers, pupils, and families and a self-reported increase in the uptake of free school meals due to taking part in the Food Hour.
Feedback Highlights:
97.5% of pupils enjoyed the Food Hour sessions
90% learned something new
100% participated in healthy eating activities
94% enjoyed the recipes they cooked
95% reported learning about sustainability
“Brilliant parent bonding experience! Even my child with food aversions enjoyed making the food—even if he didn’t eat it.” — Parent from a Cook & Create session
“I was nervous about how my Year 5s would behave, but they all loved it and were really engaged. I thoroughly enjoyed myself too!” — Year 5 Teacher, Hywel Dda Primary School
Evaluation
Challenges and learnings
Like many school-based pilot projects, timing proved a key challenge. The project began gaining momentum just as the summer term ended, requiring the team to consult, develop, and deliver simultaneously.
Despite this, the pilot demonstrated the concept’s potential and produced a robust set of resources that are ready to be rolled out or picked up at a later date if immediate funding isn’t secured.
The Backing Local Firms Fund was pivotal in making this pilot possible, providing the funding and capacity required to bring the concept to life in real-world settings.
Looking Ahead: From Pilot to Programme
Following the path of Food & Fun, partners hope to see Food Hour evolve from pilot to national programme, with a broader rollout across primary schools in Wales.
Discussions are already underway about:
Adapting content for younger and older primary age groups
Scaling delivery across more schools and regions
Evaluating impact on Free School Meal uptake and long-term behaviour change
While continued funding will be essential for this next stage, the tools, partnerships, and enthusiasm are already in place to take Food Hour forward.
Conclusion
The Food Hour project is more than just a series of school activities, it’s a foundation for long-term change. By equipping children with the skills to cook, grow, and think critically about food, it lays the groundwork for a healthier, more food-literate generation.
Backed by the Backing Local Firms Fund, this project shows how education, health, and the foundational economy can come together to create a stronger, more resilient Wales—one Food Hour at a time.
