Ellie Campbell
Building a fairer, greener food system through the power of local communities.
"The map you created has become one of the most used tools in Dundee and has transformed access to community support!Your report has been used by Fareshare to feed into some of their changes, *** used your report to seek further funding, and Transition has started a Gleaning project.Just wanted you to know that you made a real difference."
- Jacky Close, Dundee Community Food Network.
About Me
I’m a Local Food Systems Consultant helping communities build fairer, greener, and more resilient food systems.With over a decade in professional kitchens and an MSc in Global Challenges (University of Edinburgh), I bridge practical food experience with systems thinking to design solutions that are local, inclusive, and lasting.My journey began as a fine-dining chef, grew through community food work, and now focuses on helping organisations create food systems that work for both people and planet.My work is rooted in dignity, inclusion, climate action, and community wealth building — because everyone deserves good food, produced in ways that care for each other and our planet.
My Work
There’s more to food than what we eat.
Food connects us — to place, to each other, and to ourselves. It shapes community identity, offers warmth and welcome, and opens doors to conversation and learning.Someone arrives at a foodbank and finds support with their fuel bills.
Another looks forward to seeing the same friendly faces each week at a community café.
Children discover the joy of growing and cooking their own food.
A neighbour turns their love of cooking into a small business.
New friends share recipes that tell stories of home.
When we build strong local food systems, we’re not just addressing hunger — we’re cultivating connection, joy, and resilience. Food becomes a way to nourish people, strengthen communities, and create places where everyone can belong and thrive.
How I Can Help
I design and deliver place-based, strategic initiatives that balance immediate needs with long-term transformation. My work focuses on three connected challenges:
Food Security & Dignified Access
Health, Wellbeing & Learning
Climate Adaption & Resilience
I work with community organisations, councils, and other local partners to co-design practical, inclusive, and locally led food solutions.I help communities overcome barriers to create solutions that are practical, affordable, and empowering. Every project is guided by the specific needs of each community.
Community Organisations
Food partnerships, larders, cafés, pantries.Community gardens, gleaning groups, composting projects.Cooking & nutrition workshops (budget-friendly, energy saving etc).
Councils & Policymakers
Policy aligned food strategies (Good Food Nation, Local Place Plans, and Community Wealth Building etc).Stakeholder engagement & participatory design.Toolkits, research, evaluation & impact reporting.
Hospitality & Business
Circular economy best practice (packaging, food waste etc).Sustainable menu design.Food surplus redistribution partnerships.Connecting to community food networks & social initiatives.
Food Systems News
TABLE DEBATES PODCAST - Why food needs a systems approach
In this episode, Corinna Hawkes (Director, Division of Food Systems and Food Safety for the FAO), discusses her own journey toward understanding how systems shape food.What does it actually mean to ‘take a systems approach’ to food?What type of leadership skills are needed to fix food systems today?And why sometimes it's about slowing down, not speeding up?
EAT LANCET COMMISION 2025
The 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems presents new evidence-based insights on nutrition and human health, within safe and just planetary boundaries.In this video, members of the EAT-Lancet Commission underscore the global need for healthy, sustainable, and just food systems, and contextualise how what we put on our plates can affect the rest of the world.
Contact Me