Getting more children and families to eat healthy nutritious food and building long-lasting, trusting ties with the community are a key priority for local authorities in the North East, as they work against a harsh backdrop of lower life expectancy and pronounced health inequalities compared to the national average. 

Those are some of the key findings from the 2026 Good Food Local report, which tracks council action on food. With many households struggling to buy or eat healthy nutritious food, and a quarter of children living in absolute low-income families, the report finds more local authorities are investing in the Healthy Start programme, a voucher scheme which gives low-income families with young children free fruit, vegetables and milk, helping to support healthy growth and development.

With the lowest breastfeeding rates in the country, five local authorities have achieved the prestigious Unicef Baby Friendly Gold Award which celebrates support for infant feeding and parent-infant bonding. South Tees is recognised in the report for creating a tongue tie clinic, loaning breast pumps across a range of services available to new mothers, and developing training on infant feeding with local GP’s. 

The report also shows how councils are bringing more voices into decisions on local priorities and designing solutions together. They are forming new food partnerships, working with local organisations and groups, and now have 12 food partnerships across the region, eight of which are part of the Sustainable Food Places (SFP) network and seven of these have received Sustainable Food Places awards. To take this to the next level, these food partnerships work together as the North East Sustainable Food Alliance on collective ambitions.