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Time to Put Local Food on a Plate

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

If you want convenience when shopping for food, then you cannot beat the supermarket.

But in their drive for convenience and cost-cutting, supermarkets have created mass production and homogenisation, and the one thing they cannot really provide is local produce.

It's Elsanta strawberries all year around and apples from New Zealand during the British apple season.

Sure, they do try with items like butter and cheese, but their distribution channels are not really geared up for it.

This is where the local shop can get can one over on its chain store rivals.

Supermarkets have tried to kill off the independent shops with their huge free car parks and loyalty cards and buy-one-get-one- free offers.

Since the 1940s around 100,000 small shops have closed and their numbers drop 10% a year.

But of the survivors, the most successful ones have one critical point of difference to offer - local, speciality food.

And the demand for such food is growing. Although regional food only makes up 6% of the UK food and drink industry, there is much room for growth.

A Food From Britain survey found that 70% of the British population would buy regional or local produce and more than half want to buy more than they do now.

Buying food locally supports farmers, the countryside and local shops.

The Government knows this and funds groups to help local food producers.

These groups support local food festivals and farmers' markets and provide information about how consumers and retailers can find local food producers.

Information can be found at www.walesthetruetaste.com and at www.regionalfoodanddrink. co.uk.

But the biggest obstacle to the growth of regional food initiatives is accessibility.

Many of us would like to buy more local and speciality food, but we just don't have time to do so regularly. E-commerce helps, but it is not the total answer.

To move local food purchasing on from an occasional leisure activity to something that is part of our regular grocery shopping, we need to address this issue.

Leigh Roberts is a specialist in providing publicity and promotions for rural businesses. Contact leigh@coleman- roberts.co.uk or www.colemanroberts.co.uk

Source: Western Mail

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