I am Chief Officer of Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwen, whose aim is to help residents to share their views and experiences on local health and social care services and have greater ownership of their own health and wellbeing.

I have worked in the voluntary sector for over 13 years and have had the responsibility of fundraising through different income streams and am keen to support the Alliance’s sustainability.

I am also currently Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Fordhall Community Land Initiative. Fordhall Farm was a pioneer in organic farming and became the first community owned farm in England in 2006 and now has over 8,000 shareholders from across the UK and worldwide.

I have been a Councillor at Blackburn with Darwen (BwD) Unitary Authority since 2018 and Assistant Executive for Adult Services & Health, Older Persons Champion, and elected member North BwD Primary Care Neighbourhood.

I was born in the East End of London where I completed my nursing and midwifery training. I moved to Blackburn in 1986 and took further studies at the University of Central Lancashire. I studied and learnt a lot about the practice of change when working as an improvement lead in the local NHS

I formally established the Food Alliance in 2021 and became the Chair to steer to CIO status.

I have been a lifelong participant in community organisations from founding a childcare co-operative to Keep Blackburn Tidy.

A lifelong learner who enjoys being a grandma, making and creating, growing food, bee keeping and generally ‘trying stuff out’. I strive to be a participant of all aspects of a Community of Practice.

Website:  jackiefloyd17.wordpress.com

My background is in teaching, I have worked for primary schools, Blackburn College, am currently an Early Years Assessor for Best Practice Network and do supply work for Reed Education. As a Family Learning Tutor, I delivered cooking classes for children and their parents. The focus was on basic food preparation skills and budget meals.

I have worked for the Cooperative Group for two years as a Member Pioneer. This has involved me building a network of community charities and sporting clubs. I have connected the food stores with groups who benefit from the short-dated food which can be distributed to families or made into meals. I coordinate the allocation of the Local Community Fund; three local charities are chosen each year to receive a share of the Co-op Member’s money from each area.

On a personal level, I have been married to a busy GP for the last 30 years and we have four children aged between 18 and 26. I like gym classes, travelling, cooking, watching films and walking.

As a Trustee for the Food Alliance, I can share my local knowledge, teaching experience and interest in building connections to achieve a more equitable distribution of food.

Gill is the Operations Manager at Blackburn Foodbank which is a full-on, full-time & very interesting role. She has successfully overseen the growth of the whole service as a result of the pandemic and the rise of the cost of living.

She has extensive experience writing grant applications and managing large-scale projects and events – including organising music events with over 4000 children and mass catering for parties and weddings. She is a great networker, making countless connections between people both in the workplace and at home.

In her spare time Gill is a Director of Whoops a Daisy Music, running a music programme for 115 schools across the county. Concerts are planned with military precision and are enjoyed by thousands, both performing and watching.

In her spare time Gill loves singing with her 2 choirs – The Trills and Octavius, going to parties with friends and family, cooking dinner for others and playing badminton.

Being a Trustee of the Food Alliance, Gill hopes to help unite all the food groups in Blackburn with Darwen to provide opportunities for the best food and diet for the people in the Borough.