CEC Food Resilience Support Working Group | 1-1

Community Discussion Digest | Three weeks to 18 October 2026 |

Overview

The group has been exploring ways to strengthen community food resilience through local food production, preservation, sharing and collaboration.

A particularly promising idea has emerged: developing a network of community food preservation projects, inspired by the Repair Café model, bringing together growers, community gardens, allotments, local kitchens and people with practical skills.

The discussion has also identified potential partners, useful resources, offers of expertise and possible next steps towards creating a national network of locally based projects.

1. Community food preservation

Food preservation has been a central topic, with discussion of fermentation, canning, bottling, pickling, dehydration, jam-making and other techniques.

Participants shared their own experience and expressed interest in learning from others. Several noted that equipment such as pressure canners can be expensive for individuals, making shared community facilities an attractive possibility.

Ideas included:

• Running practical courses in community kitchens and gardens.
• Sharing equipment and specialist knowledge.
• Developing community preservation sessions modelled on Repair Cafés.
• Connecting seasonal food gluts with opportunities to preserve food for later use.
• Building practical knowledge that can be passed between communities.

Participants highlighted the need for reliable guidance, particularly where preservation methods require specialist equipment and food safety knowledge.

Shared resources:

• Chef Sam Black — fermentation recipes and resources.
• Ten Simple Recipes for Honey Ferments — recipes shared for inspiration.
• Fermental Health — mentioned in connection with fermentation sessions already held at a community garden.

2. A community food resilience model inspired by Repair Cafés

A proposal was made to co-create a food resilience model drawing on the success of Repair Cafés.

The suggestion is to build on existing community gardens, allotments and suitable local kitchens, providing opportunities for people to learn and practise food preservation skills together.

Potential activities include fermentation, drying, bottling, pickling and safe canning techniques.

An initial series of skills workshops could develop into a wider programme, with an aspirational launch next autumn and opportunities for other communities to join.

Participants responded positively. Experience with delivering fermentation sessions, access to equipment, and connections with existing projects were offered as possible contributions.

This remains a proposal for co-development, rather than an agreed or funded programme.

3. Connecting growers, communities and food distribution

An important theme was the need to connect food production with communities that need food.

Participants discussed:

• Linking urban communities with rural growers and land-based projects.
• Connecting farmers, food larders, community fridges and Climate Emergency Centres.
• Using surplus or commercially rejected produce rather than allowing it to be wasted.
• Developing local relationships between producers and consumers.
• Supporting communities to access land for growing food.

One contributor with farming experience highlighted the quantity of edible produce lost because of commercial quality grading.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) was discussed as a particularly relevant model because it brings producers and consumers into closer relationships and shares some of the risks of food production.

Shared resources:

• Community Supported Agriculture UK
• FareShare — Getting Food
• Foodrise Gleaning Network
• Permaculture Association — Landshare Schemes
• Landmatch England

4. Building relationships and community wellbeing

The discussion emphasised that food resilience is not simply about producing or storing enough food.

Participants described the importance of community potlucks, shared meals, music and practical activities for bringing people together.

Shared food projects were also seen as opportunities to reduce social isolation, strengthen community relationships and build confidence in practical skills.

This suggests that community food resilience could be understood as both a material and a social endeavour: strengthening food security while developing relationships and mutual support.

5. Climate resilience and land-based initiatives

Participants connected food resilience with the wider challenge of climate change and potential disruption to existing food systems.

Some suggested that preserving seasonal produce could reduce dependence on refrigeration and electricity-dependent storage, although processing itself may require substantial energy.

Other contributions focused on land access, nature recovery, food forests, and the connections between urban communities and rural projects.

Shared resources:

• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology — Detailed Landscape Mapping
• Save the FG crowdfunding campaign — shared in connection with food forests.
• Oxford Farming Conference Scholarship Programme

6. Connections with wider networks

A Zoom discussion with Andy Dibben of the Oxford Real Farming Conference was reported. This explored connections between farmers, rural projects, cities, community food initiatives and the wider CEC network.

Participants suggested arranging a dedicated food resilience networking meeting to develop these connections further.

Other organisations and initiatives mentioned included:

• Oxford Real Farming Conference
• Organic Growers Gathering
• Thames Organic
• Trussell — suggested as a possible organisation to approach regarding support for pilots.

These are organisations and resources identified in discussion, not necessarily confirmed project partners.

7. Organising the next stage

Several proposals for moving the group forward emerged.

Meetings: Phoenix proposed regular monthly Zoom meetings for people interested in food resilience, together with physical meetings approximately every two months in different locations.

Introductions and mapping: Members were encouraged to introduce themselves, their locations, projects, experience, useful connections, and any offers or requests for help.

Agenda: A participant offered to prepare an outline agenda for an initial meeting, allowing members to discover one another’s interests and explore possible ways forward.

Funding: Participants discussed the possibility of seeking support to develop and test small community food preservation pilots, potentially with national partners.

Knowledge sharing: There was interest in producing discussion digests and making links, contacts and ideas easier to find and use.

The group was reminded that the CEC network operates with limited financial and organisational resources and would welcome help in developing funding applications.

8. Questions for further dialogue

The discussion suggests several useful questions for the group’s next meeting:

1. What existing food preservation or resilience activities could serve as starting points for pilots?
2. What skills, equipment, suitable kitchens and willing facilitators are already available within the network?
3. How could food safety, training and appropriate standards be built into a shared model?
4. How might local growers, food larders, community kitchens and community-supported agriculture schemes collaborate?
5. What support would be needed to test and document a model that other communities could adapt?
6. How can the knowledge, experience and connections shared in the group remain accessible to existing and new members?

9. Further CEC resources

The group shared information about the wider Climate Emergency Centres network, including a free handbook on establishing centres.

For information about setting up a Climate Emergency Centre, members were directed to the CEC Outreach Team.

A video of the webinar that helped initiate the group was also shared:

Watch the original Food Resilience webinar

Closing reflection

Across these three weeks, the conversation has moved from sharing resources and experiences towards exploring a collaborative model for community food resilience.

There is growing interest in combining practical food preservation skills, access to local produce, shared equipment, community learning and connections between existing organisations.

The next opportunity is to bring these interests together through dialogue, identify achievable pilots, and explore how a flexible network might support locally rooted projects.

The central idea is not simply preserving food, but preserving and developing the knowledge, relationships and capacities that help communities sustain themselves.