Making local food work

Have you ever looked at your plate as you’ve sat down to dinner and wondered where your food actually came from?

In today’s society it's easy to drive to the supermarket, buy pre-packaged food flown in from other countries and in doing so, lose your connection with the producer, the land and locally produced food.

Making Local Food Work is a project funded by the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) that believes consumers, producers and land are interdependent.

It aims to bring the three together by increasing access to fresh, healthy local foods to benefit local communities, the environment and our health.

Locally produced food

As part of BIG’s Changing Spaces programme, £10 million will be invested in local food initiatives throughout England over five years*, aiming to make locally produced food accessible to even more people.

Country Markets Ltd plans to do this by using £508,000 of funding over four years to explore and develop Indirect Selling*. This means locally produced food will be sold through retail outlets such as community shops, as well as Country Markets.

Each Country Market is unique, with the range of produce varying according to the locality and the season, and the origin of your locally produced food easily tracked.

This individuality will grow as the Making Local Food Work team supports small shops and producers selling local foods by writing guidance on new business and sharing important networks, ideas and skills.

Locally produced food is fresher than produce shipped in from abroad and tastes more nutritious. With fewer food miles and less packaging, local foods are better for the environment.

Supporting your local economy means not only will you benefit from enjoying locally produced food, but the community will also benefit from your money staying in the local purse.

Support local farmers – buy local meat

Supplying local meat directly to customers benefits farmers, who otherwise lose money through a third party. At the beginning of 2008, supermarkets sold pork for a mere £1.05 a kilo, whereas farmers paid £1.45 to produce the same kilo**.

Buying local meat directly gives the farmer a fair deal and allows you to enjoy the tastier rare breed pork rather than the supermarket’s intensively reared option.

You can do your bit by dropping into the butchers for your local meat on the way home from your nearest Country Market.

Making Local Food Work is a partnership of seven organisations, including Country Markets Ltd, Alliance for Better Food and Farming, and the Plunkett Foundation.

*Information taken from Country Markets
http://www.country-markets.co.uk/making-local-food-work-c188.html

**Information taken from BPEX Ltd, who represents pig levy payers in England.
http://www.bpex.org.uk/

http://www.country-markets.co.uk - find out how Country Markets Ltd is involved in Making Local Food Work
http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk - more information about Making Local Food Work