Food availability, one of our basic needs, is expected to undergo significant changes in the coming years. In Wales and the UK, our food travels from soil to plate through supply chains that are particularly vulnerable to some of the most pressing challenges we face today. Climate change, biodiversity loss, the rising cost of living, and public health are all interconnected with food systems, posing considerable risks to their stability and resilience. However, Wales has been taking great strides to tackle the complex challenges within the food sector.
Our current food system in Wales is highly dependent on global food systems. In the UK, 45% of food supply is reliant on imports, leaving our food systems at risk of global shocks. However, a recent report from Sustain looked at the resilience of local food chains and found that not only can local food supply chains be resilient to shocks, but they will also strengthen local economies. The food system as a whole, one of the main pillars of the Foundational Economy in Wales, will benefit from local food systems, leading to ‘higher incomes for producers and greater job creation’, with more wealth being retained within local communities instead of being distributed to what Sustain refer to as ‘shareholder-driven supermarkets’. This work of localising food systems is well underway, with local food partnerships set up to develop a more sustainable food future specific to the local area and its needs. We highly encourage you to see what is going on in your local and regional area and get involved.
A National Food Strategy for Wales
At the Royal Welsh Show in August 2026, the Welsh Government announced the National Food Strategy with plans for a whole system approach from farm to fork. This new strategy will cover the entire food system and will be informed by an expert group established to shape the future of Welsh food. Wales’s food and drink supply chain, as a key part of the Foundational Economy, is worth over £28 billion and employs one in six workers across the country. The Soil Association’s 2026 Election manifesto sets out a good summary of the changes needed for a sustainable food system, prioritising healthy food, investing in nature-friendly farming, and stepping up action on climate and nature.
We have all experienced the increasingly drastic heatwaves this summer (2026) as a direct result of climate change. Speak with any grower or farmer this year, and you will hear that yields have been incredibly low due to the prolonged drought, especially following the last three years of poorer and poorer yields. These challenging conditions have meant that, now more than ever, it is important to support local suppliers. The likelihood of extreme weather is only set to rise as a result of ongoing climate change, and instability in global affairs has only driven food prices up and up. Our food systems need to become more resilient and integrated with other policy areas such as health, energy and education.
Actions you can take towards improving your own food resilience
Localising our food systems is the best way forward to build resilience and food security in Wales. Alongside the policy changes we will see, we can also recommend actions anyone can take to help food resilience:
- Discover your local Food Partnership – with 22 locations across Wales, get in touch with your local coordinator.
- Research local community gardens – not only great for community fruit and veg growing, but also fantastic for well-being, learning skills and growing your community connections.
- Compost food scraps – healthy soil is the basic building block of growing food; if you can make your own fertiliser, you save money and introduce a circular system that can sustainably reduce your raw food waste whilst improving soil quality for growing crops (even in urban areas!)
- Support local growers – with veg box schemes, at the farmers’ market, or directly with growers. Producers tend to grow a wider variety of crops than what is available in the supermarket; this helps spread out the risk of crops failing for the supplier and helps you to explore different fruits, vegetables, beans and pulses that are seasonal, fresh and often pesticide-free.
- Grow, forage and preserve your own food – this can be as simple as picking blackberries and sticking them in the freezer, turning them into jam, or planting out spring onions, used lettuce stems and tomatoes. There is a lot of food that doesn’t need to be grown from seed and can be grown on a windowsill. Looking into how to preserve food we have grown or bought can help reduce food waste, a major source of carbon emissions.
- Use apps such as Olio and Too Good to Go – these help shops and restaurants give away unsold food for free, or s at reduced prices to fight food waste.
The challenges facing the food system in Wales are complex and wide ranging but the solution we need will produce not just better outcomes for our plates and our farmers but also for our communities and our wider economy. Individuals can play their part in this transition too: stay involved, keep informed, shop locally and seasonally when you can, have a go at growing something new, build resilience for our food supply chains and keep an eye on Wales’s progress.
Five resilient food system projects in Wales
Since 2023 Cynnal Cymru have been supporting a network of projects in Wales working towards resilient food systems on behalf of Welsh Government. This network brings together Welsh projects that focus on strong local and regional food networks for reduced reliance on imported products whilst also ensuring that local supply chains includes farming systems that support healthy resilient soil with diverse climate resilient crops. Read about just some of the many inspiring projects here:
Social Farms and Gardens – Future Farms project works to help small‑scale, environmentally friendly horticulture growers in Powys unlock land for local food growing.
Food Sense Wales – Welsh Veg in Schools programme aims to increase the production and consumption of organic Welsh-grown vegetables by supplying them directly to primary schools.
Castell Howell – 2 projects working to improve Welsh vegetable supply chains and provide schools and hospitals with locally sourced, nutritious meals.
Menter Môn – Larder Cymru, working to increase the use of Welsh food products in public sector school meals.
Carmarthenshire County Council – Future Generations Menu, redesigning primary school menus and embedding local, seasonal produce into public sector food provision.
PLANED – Enhancing rural access to fresh food through community vending machines.
If you are interested in getting involved with our Food Network or learning more about our work on the Foundational Economy, email: shwmae@cynnalcymru.com
