Organic Shopping’s Feel-Good Factor!

By ANDREW BALDWIN Feature Writer

EATING organicwasonce considered a bit eccentric, but in recent years the market for everything “green” has become a boom industry.

No longer confined to simple fruit and veg, it includes everything from eggs, meat, honey and tea to clothing and beer.

Huddersfield business Half Moon Foods sells specialist food from its town centre shop and also has a home delivery service.

Owner Adrian Midgley says: “When we started out we were the only shop of our kind in the area, although there was a stall on the open market.

“We were pushing a concept. That this is the right and sustainable way for food produce.”

There’s a feel-good factor among the shoppers hunting organic and wholefood products at the store in Half Moon Street. Their trip is a lifestyle choice.

Adrian, with partner Judith Beresford, makes weekly deliveries of organic fruit and vegetables to customers.

The apples might have knobbly bits and some of the carrots are gnarled, but these shoppers believe that eating organic food benefits body, mind and soul.

Customers get whatever is available and Adrian admits that sometimes they can be a bit mystified by what they receive.

“They might get, say, a Jerusalem artichoke if it’s in season.We’re introducing them to something new, but we generally find they are receptive.”

The organic movement is growing steadily and the Soil Association reports a 30% rise in sales to pounds 1.6bn in the last year alone.

Coupled with this is a growing interest in local food – a reaction to the fact that 70% of produce sold in UK supermarkets is imported, generating thousands of “food miles” to get to its destination and causing damage to the environment.

Huddersfield Friends of the Earth is raising the issue in a new campaign.

Co-ordinator Tim Padmore says: “Many people in Kirklees are enthusiastic about locally sourced food, whether it is from local shops, farmers’ markets or even grown in allotments.

The climate change crisis has encouraged people to think about the carbon footprint of the food they eat.”

One of the ways that people can lessen the environmental impact of their food is to eat more seasonally.

Huddersfield Friends of the Earth has produced a wallchart of seasonal British food with the help of a Kirklees Council environment grant.

The wallchart is being given away by the group at the charity market at Huddersfield Open Market on Sunday to any people who join the group or support one of Friends of the Earth’s campaigns.

“Local shops are more likely to provide local food that hasn’t been flown halfway across the world. As well as this, because you are more likely to walk or cycle to local shops than supermarkets, shopping local can cut traffic pollution,” says Mr Padmore.

Huddersfield-based Splash Winery has latched on to a burgeoning market for native tipples and its range of quality fruit wines is selling well.

Founder Paul Vickerman made the brave leap into full-time production aftermaking wine as a hobby for almost 20 years.

He produces traditional English wine, using raw ingredients such as rhubarb, elderberry, peachand elderflower and his products are causing a buzz among foodies.

His elderberry wine is the best-seller, although hibiscus – introduced at the end of last year – is proving very popular.

“It’s going very well. A lot of people are concerned about the food miles issue,” Paul says.

From storing homemade wine under the floorboards of his spare room, he now produces from a small canalside base in Milnsbridge.

Splash Winery has forged an alliance with the Deliciously Yorkshire campaign to bring the joys of regional food to a wider audience.

The campaign reports that 96% of people who frequent independent retailers feel that food sourced from Yorkshire is more sustainable and they feel better buying that produce.

Marketing manager Elizabeth Halsall says: “Our research confirmed that large numbers of people are actively looking for more Yorkshire produce intheir local stores and supermarkets.

“These shoppers are prepared to pay a premium on goods produced within the county, which are perceived to taste better, linked to the community and offer value for money.”

Badger Preserves, based in Brockholes, echo this view. The monthly Holmfirth farmers’ market is among outlets for their range of homemade jams, jellies and chutneys.

“We are proud of our growing range of additive-free preserves, and are always eager to find new and unusual recipe ideas,” their website says.

andrew.baldwin@examiner.co.uk

(c) 2007 Daily Post; Liverpool. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.