Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker made a special visit to Cae Felin Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to see how the project operates.
He was given an insight into the CSA’s work across its seven-acre site, on land which is owned by Swansea Bay UHB, and met volunteers and directors to hear of its future plans.
The CSA, a not-for-profit organisation, is independently run but supported by the health board as part of its wider commitment to a more sustainable future.
It has grown fruit and vegetables, which have been distributed to low income and deprived areas, and is selling food boxes with the money being reinvested in the project.
The CSA’s long-term goal is to provide produce for patient meals at Morriston Hospital.
Mr Walker has been hugely impressed by the early success of the CSA, and wishes to see more organisations follow suit.
He said: “As Commissioner, my role is to be the guardian of future generations. This means helping public bodies and those who make policy in Wales to think about the long-term impact their decisions have.
(Image: Swansea Bay NHS)
“What is wonderful to see is the health board – a public body – working with the community and providing land to enable this to happen.
“We are keen to support more public sector organisations, particularly those who fall under the Well-being and Future Generations Act, to do more of this because it makes a big difference.
“This is a really innovating leading example and it would be great to see other bodies and organisations do something similar.
“We want to see more of these types of projects and to scale them up because we have issues in the food system. We are getting unhealthier as a result of the food we eat. In Wales, diabetes levels are the highest in the UK – a lot of that is down to diet.
“On the other side, agriculture practices are intensive and cause damage to our environment and rivers.
“There are issues in our food system which are causing problems for people today and for generations to come. We need to change course for the long term.
“Public bodies really need to be focusing on how their decisions are going to impact the long-term, and working together to prevent problems occurring.
“What we are seeing with this project is a fantastic collaboration that delivers numerous benefits in the production of healthy food while it also has exciting plans to develop further.”
(Image: Swansea Bay NHS)
Aside from producing fruit and vegetables, the CSA has provided many other benefits to the community.
It dedicates two acres of its site to habitat restoration, while it also hosts horticultural workshops on site to share skills such as pruning, grafting, growing, harvesting, and cooking food.
Local schools have learned how to grow their own chips by planting potatoes, while the site has also been utilised by the hospital’s brain injury service as part of its innovative approach to rehabilitating patients.
Will Beasley is a consultant surgeon at Morriston Hospital and director of Cae Felin.
He said: “It was really pleasing to welcome the Future Generations Commissioner to Cae Felin and show him the good work that is going on.
“It shows he recognises the fundamental importance of making the connection between the crisis in our food, health and social systems, and that change is desperately needed to ensure a resilient and sustainable future.”
