The Merton Food Charter sets out a vision for a healthy and sustainable food culture in Merton based on priorities identified by local partners at the Merton Food Summit in April 2015.

Individuals or organisations can sign up to the charter and pledge to support one or more of its aims.

​Sign up to the Merton Food Charter

What you can do

Below are some ideas on how you can take action as an individual or organisation to support the charter.

As an individual, you can:

• buy fresh, seasonal and local food
• cook fresh meals from raw ingredients
• grown your own food
• compost your food waste and recycle food packaging
• buy foods that have high animal welfare marks, such as responsibly sourced fish and seafood
• use the charter to start a conversation with your local shops and supermarkets to find out what they are doing to support a healthy food environment

As an organisation, you can:

• order healthy and sustainable food
• provide healthy food options for staff, students and visitors
• reduce access to unhealthy, processed foods in vending machines
• support employees to make healthy food choices
• encourage partners to support the aims of the food charter

Useful links

A joined up approach to health and sustainable food

• A Plan for Public Procurement (Defra)
• Sustainable procurement: the Government Buying Standards​

Improving health and wellbeing

• LiveWell Merton
• School Food Plan
• London Healthy Workplace Charter

Increasing knowledge across the food cycle

• Food waste reduction
• Love Food Hate Waste
• Healthy eating
• Change4life​

Encouraging the development and sharing of skills

• Soil Association

What we are doing

Public Health are taking the following actions towards the aims of the Merton Food Charter:

• A comprehensive Weight Management and Healthy Lifestyles Service is being commissioned to support Merton residents to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, eat healthily and get active.
• We are helping with the development of school meals contracts, making sure that health aims are part of them
• Employees of organisations and businesses across the borough are being supported to eat healthily through schemes that address healthy food as part of wider health initiatives
  • The Council has achieved London Healthy Workplace Charter 'Commitment' status and action is being taken to increase awareness of healthy eating and to ensure that healthy options are available for staff
  • A Healthy Workplace Outreach service for small to medium businesses, delivered by Merton Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Public Health
• Healthy eating and cooking sessions have been commissioned in some schools in East Merton as part of the targeted local Healthy Schools programme

Contact details

For more information, please email healthyfood@merton.gov.uk or contact Sustainable Merton