Home » 2026 October » Researcher helps shape new £10m food programme
Researcher helps shape new £10m food programme
A community researcher and PhD student from the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences has helped inform a new government programme aimed at improving access to healthy, affordable food in some of England’s most disadvantaged communities.
Dominic Watters was a member of Defra’s Citizens Advisory Council, whose work helped shape the Good Food Neighbourhoods programme, announced on 30 September. Almost £10 million will be shared across 45 local authorities to support initiatives such as community food shops, mobile greengrocers, lunch clubs and community kitchens.
Dominic’s research explores food insecurity in council estate communities in Canterbury and Lincolnshire. Raising his daughter as a single dad in council estate poverty has helped to build Dominic’s passion to make an impact through developing research at Southampton.
Since the COVID crisis, he has worked to bring residents’, often unheard, everyday experiences to decision-makers, highlighting how access to food is shaped by wider neighbourhood conditions. His Four Visual Pillars framework draws attention to the connections between housing, food, energy and transport.
Dominic (pictured left) said:
“I’m pleased to have been part of the Citizens Advisory Council and to see community food environments receiving this attention.
“It feels bittersweet, because I have spent years trying to make visible the daily realities that have been overlooked for so long.
“The programme’s success will depend on whether residents have a meaningful role in shaping what happens locally, and whether the investment leads to lasting change. Communities deserve more than well-intentioned initiatives developed in their name. They deserve to be heard, involved and able to see lasting improvements in the places where they live.”
Dominic hopes to speak with those developing the programme about how residents’ knowledge and experience can inform its next steps.
The announcement is part of Defra’s Good Food Cycle, the government’s wider framework for a healthier, more affordable and resilient food system.
