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Food Preparedness Group

The Food Preparedness Group (FPG) brings together government, industry and civil society to prepare for risks that could cause sudden, severe or widespread disruption to the UK food system.

Role of the group 

The Food Preparedness Group (FPG) is a stakeholder advisory group, established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in October 2026. It supports the food system’s preparedness for:

  • acute risks: time-bound, often unexpected events that rapidly disrupt the food system and food availability, supply chains, costs and consumers – for example, extreme weather, input shocks or major incidents 
  • catastrophic risks: less likely acute risks with exceptionally high impact and potential to affect the food system’s ability to function – for example, widespread infrastructure failures or major global supply chain disruptions

Subgroups 

The FPG is made up of 2 subgroups:    

  • Supply Chain Food Preparedness Group (SCFPG), focused on industry preparedness and resilience across the food supply chain 
  • Local and Household Food Preparedness Group (LHFPG), focused on the impacts of disruption at the local, community and household level and how to prepare effectively 

These groups will enable Defra to work strategically with industry and civil society (including the voluntary and community sector) to strengthen food preparedness. This means helping organisations and individuals to be ready to respond to food supply disruptions through clear roles, responsibilities, exercise and capacity building.

Membership 

The Food Preparedness Group members are split into 2 subgroups.

Chair of the Food Preparedness Group 

Lizzie Chatterjee (Agri-Food Chain Director, Defra) is the Chair of the Food Preparedness Group.

Supply Chain Food Preparedness Group (SCFPG) 

The members of SCFPG are: 

  • Balwinder Dhoot, Food and Drink Federation  
  • Ben Garrat, Logistics UK 
  • James Bielby, Food and Drink Wholesale  
  • Jim Bligh, British Retail Consortium  
  • Kate Nicholls, UK Hospitality  
  • Phil Pluck, Cold Chain Federation  
  • Robert Sheasby, Agricultural Industries Confederation  
  • Sophie Throup, National Farmers Union

Local and Household Food Preparedness Group (LHFPG) 

The members of LHFPG are: 

  • Anna Taylor, Food Foundation 
  • Charlotte Hill, Felix  
  • Ed Woodall, Association of Convenience Stores 
  • James Mahoney, Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum; Local-National Energy Risks Planning Group (LNERPG) Food and Water Resilience Working Group  
  • Jenny Rowlands, Local Government Association            
  • Mark Rolfe, Kent and Medway Local Resilience Forum             
  • Robyn Knox, Voluntary and Community Sector Emergency Partnership 
  • Sam Lewis, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government  
  • Stuart Marshall, Cleveland Local Resilience Forum

Terms of reference

Food Preparedness Group – Terms of reference (PDF, 111 KB, 5 pages)

Meeting minutes

Food Preparedness Group – 6 October meeting summary (PDF, 94.4 KB, 3 pages)

Contact 

For questions about the Food Preparedness Group and its work, contact  foodpreparednessengagement@defra.gov.uk.

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