Sustainable Food System
The Council is working on various projects to establish a sustainable food system for the city and district, including:
Acorn Farm I Can Grow Project:
Funded by the National Lottery and led by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland in partnership with DCSDC, this project aims to enhance local capacity for growing and cooking food while researching local food systems, resilience, and climate change.
Sutainable Food Place:
The Council is pursuing designation as a Sustainable Food Place and has established the Acorn Food Network to collaborate with various stakeholders on delivering positive change.
Acorn Farm Hub:
The Council has received £5.6 million from the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund for the development of the Acorn Farm Sustainable Food Hub (£6.2 million total). This hub will feature geodesic domes, growing spaces, and learning centres within St Columb’s Park. It will utilise innovative climate-smart technology for local food production, support new culinary practices, and serve as a key eco-tourism destination and community focal point for climate action and food growing.
Further information on the sustainable food programme can be found here: https://acornfarmni.com/