Freedom Food
Freedom Food is the RSPCA’s farm assurance and food labelling scheme. It is the only UK farm assurance scheme to focus solely on improving the welfare of farm animals reared for food. We believe that animals reared for food deserve a happy, healthy life. This means providing them with an environment that meets their needs – needs not confined to space, food and water but psychological needs too. So providing a stimulating environment that enables the animals to exhibit their natural behaviour is very important.
The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG) has worked with RSPCA Freedom Food to make available the Freedom Food standards to city farms and to cover all livestock during site inspection. The FCFCG objectives are to:
1. Further raise the standards of animal welfare on city farms
2. Provide supportive services to FCFCG members to help raise animal welfare standards
3. Demonstrate animal welfare standards to the general public/media
4. Implement an external verifiable system of assessment.
Freedom Food has agreed to provide an annual on-site assessment of the animal welfare standards of each city farm, to cover all types of livestock reared, and to issue a welfare assessment certificate to confirm the standard and which you may use for evidence and publicity purposes.
What do we need you to do?
If you do not have all the necessary information required to evidence your animal welfare standards these must be brought together before an application can be made. A Word template has been developed by the FCFCG from a document used at Bill Quay Community Farm, Gateshead, and approved by Freedom Food, for you to store all the relevant information you need to manage a good animal health plan. The document is not only a statement of policy for your farm, but a place where all the essential information about livestock-related matters can be found, and should be used as a reference document and when training staff (paid or volunteers). The template, plus an accompanying guide, are available using the link below:
Animal Welfare Plan Template editable
Guide to Animal Welfare Template
How do we apply?
Download the application form below and use it to ensure that all the relevant information is supplied before the assessment visit, then email or post to FCFCG, fao Ian Egginton-Metters. If you have any queries please contact Ian on 01373 302204 / 07939 230053 or via: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . FCFCG administration costs will be reduced if you send a cheque with the form, but an invoice can be raised if necessary. You can download a version of the application form with this information attached using the following link:
Application Freedom Food FCFCG Animal Health Inspection
What does it cost?
The FCFCG Board recognises how important this initiative is and aims to support as many city farms as possible to adopt these standards and demonstrate this through an annual assessment. The Board has agreed to make available funds to pay 50% of the costs if you register before April 2012; the exact date of inspection will be notified, and mutually agreed, by the Freedom Food Assessor for your area.
First year introductory fee is only £50 +VAT (£60)! The scheme has been set at just £100 (+VAT) for each subsequent year. This is a special rate to help support the important work of city farms in educating the public about animal welfare.
You will be issued with Freedom Food certificates for the animals where published standards exist, and another for the welfare of all other livestock on site at the time of assessment. If you wish to also use the Freedom Food logo on any of your produce there will be an extra charge for each livestock type approved in line with the prevailing scale of charges (see www.rspca.org.uk/freedomfood/producers/join).
What happens if we fall below the standards?
Any non-compliance will be raised during the visit and corrective action agreed with the assessor; you will then need to supply objective evidence (often an electronic photograph and statement) of that corrective action within a week. The scheme is designed to positively encourage and support you to meet standards rather than be seen as negative enforcement hence agreeing actions during the visit. Failure to meet the standards within the time period set by the Assessor will result in the farm being required to make a fresh application and pay the associated fee.
What happens at the end of the first year?
You will be sent a renewal reminder about five weeks before the expiry of your certificate, requesting payment of the annual assessment fee and confirmation that you wish to continue to be part of the assessment process. A Freedom Food inspector will then make contact and arrange a mutually convenient date to visit.
