The council received the Excellence award in the Good Food Local Awards (North East and North Cumbria), and was ranked highest for leadership among the 13 participating councils. Colin Cox, the council's Director of Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing, said: "This award recognises the remarkable progress we have made in improving access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food. The council’s Food Cumberland programme, launched in 2024, has increased its overall score in the Good Food Local framework from 67 per cent to 86 per cent. Its score for tackling food poverty also rose from 58 per cent to 79 per cent. The council also supported 10 schools in embedding healthy eating within their policies to meet the government’s School Food Standards.