Who we are

WHO WE ARE

Bristol Food Network C.I.C. supports, informs and connects individuals, community projects, organisations and businesses who share a vision to transform Bristol into a sustainable food city.

We have taken our wider objectives from A Good Food Plan for Bristol:

  • To promote and encourage people to cook from scratch, grow their own and eat more fresh, seasonal, local, organically grown food.
  • To champion the use of local, independent food shops and traders to help keep Bristol’s high street vibrant and diverse.
  • To promote and encourage the use of good quality land in and around Bristol for food production.
  • To promote and encourage the redistribution, recycling and composting of food waste.
  • To advance education about the part that food, nutrition and lifestyle can play in meeting the needs of disadvantaged individuals, families and groups in the community and encourage social inclusion and social cohesion.
  • To promote community-led food trade such as co-operatives, buying groups, Community Supported Agriculture and pop-up shops.
  • To build the Bristol Food Network expertise in food and sustainability that allows access to and creates opportunities for local people within Bristol.

MEET THE TEAM

CHAIR

ELLEN HARRISON

Ellen works in communications and marketing for Triodos Bank, a leading sustainable bank based in Bristol. She also volunteers locally with FoodCycle, a charity that runs weekly community meals using surplus food. ​

DIRECTOR

HELOISE BALME

Heloise has been involved in sustainable food since 2018, and worked for The Community Farm in Somerset before joining Bristol Food Network. As well as being a director, she is also our General Manager, running the organisation day-to-day. ​

DIRECTOR

DR LAUREN BLAKE

Lauren is a social scientist and Lecturer at the University of Bristol’s Geography School, where she teaches and conducts interdisciplinary research on agri-food systems. She is the Food Security theme lead for the Cabot Institute for the Environment, co-lead for the Food Justice Network, and sits on the Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC).

DIRECTOR

JOY CAREY

Joy is an independent consultant working with cities on planning better food systems. She currently works with RUAF Foundation on various international projects. She is the author of 'Who Feeds Bristol?: Towards a resilient food plan'.

DIRECTOR

DIANA FINCH

Diana has a background in non-profit and charity leadership, with a particular focus on financial direction. Until recently, she was the managing director of Bristol Pay CIC and is currently finance manager at the Food Farming and Countryside Commission. ​

DIRECTOR

DANNI ROCHMAN

Danni has worked with a number of sustainable food-focused organisations including the Soil Association, The Community Farm, Bristol Fair Trade Network and Better Food. She was Communications Coordinator for Bristol’s Gold Sustainable Food City bid.​

CONTENT COORDINATOR

RAMONA ANDREWS

Ramona is a freelance writer and digital content producer focussing on food, seasonal recipes and sustainability. She is part of Bramble Farm, a communally run smallholding in Knowle, in South Bristol. Ramona writes and commissions content for Bristol Good Food 2030 and writes the newsletter.​

PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR

GEMMA CHARNOCK

Gemma has a background in project management working in the charity sector across organisations focussed on health, domestic abuse, human rights and the environment. Alongside this she has been training to be a gardener. Gemma started out her career working for her family’s organic and wholefoods business in Leicester.

COMMS COORDINATOR

TOM RICHARDSON

Tom is helping build Bristol's Good Food movement with Bristol Food Network, as well as currently managing communications and strategy development for The Community Farm, a not-for-profit organic veg box scheme.