Food and Drink Wales Industry Board: update from Gary Mitchell (April 2025)

Food and Drink Industry Board Wales (FDWIB) Gary Mitchell

Like all of us on the board I have a long connection with food. I have a special interest in horticulture and agroecology installed in me by my father. He has been a professional gardener and grower throughout most of my life.

We always grew as much of our own food as we could and were often surrounded by a menagerie of animals.

My father was responsible for restoring several large Victorian estate walled gardens to their former glory and bringing them into full production.

Like many students, I took on pub work to supplement my student loan / grant. I was welcomed into the Whitbread family, soon becoming one of Whitbread’s youngest landlords. I graduating from the British Institute of Innkeeping at the age of 23. I ran three city centre pubs within my career and became a new publican trainer for the company also.

Since returning to my roots in Mid Wales around 2010 I have been working on local food systems and supply chains. I supported the early foundational work of Cwm Harry Land Trust, a circular economy enterprise based on a farm in a small Powys village. They they collected food waste from their community, took it back to the farm to compost, then grew veg on it to sell back to their community. This enterprise started in 1998 became the Cwm Harry Food Co. I was one of the founding directors along with a life-long friend.

We spent years looking for local authority farmland to expand the enterprise but failed consistently as it was a rather alien concept to a rural farming authority back then. Thankfully, things are changing. We took the brave decision to change from a CIC to a Community Benefit Society (a Coop).  At the time, only the second ever CIC to convert to this more worker / producer owned model following in the pioneering footsteps of SUMA and others. That entity trades as Cultivate and is still managed by my good friend.

I’m now the CEO of a UK wide Charity – Social Farms and Gardens (SF&G).  I work part time supporting our 4,500 members to do what they do best. Namely creating social, environmental and economic outputs based around local food and green spaces. I have worked for SF&G for 13 years. Until recently my work was focused on outputs in Wales and building relationships and partnerships across the sector. Throughout that time, we have built lasting partnerships with a substantial number of organisations, government departments and local authorities. We have led research and trials on behalf of Welsh Government. This includes areas such as:

• controlled environment agriculture
• local authority procurement
• food hubs development
• land access,
• allotments

and much more.

With over 1,000 sites in Wales the community food sector is vast and varied. It is with this background I was asked to consider supporting the work of the FDWIB which I graciously accepted. I and other organisations I work with have been supporting the development and understanding behind the forthcoming Community Food Strategy that is being Launched in Spring this year.

To me this is a hugely positive step where Welsh Government has been amassing the knowledge (the barriers and opportunities) behind the complex food system we have in Wales.

By improving the supply of locally sourced food, we can increase people’s access to healthy, sustainable food which has lower food miles and is produced in a way that supports nature. Achieving this can help us reduce food insecurity, prevent diet related ill-health, and unlock opportunities for green growth in local economies.

I see my role on the board as an opportunity to highlight the diverse nature of the community food systems. Also to promote the benefits they deliver in terms of health, wellbeing, climate and nature improvements. Whilst also contributing to our economy and food production. Equally to champion and support those on the ground with issues, but also to open up opportunities for them to thrive.

Social Farms and Gardens are leading on some innovative work under the Future Farms partnership. We are un-locking land, changing planning policy to promote and support sustainable fresh food production here in Wales and across a number of local authority areas . Being on the board helps me to spread the learning from such work.

Gary Mitchell, PBh (KCD), FRSA