Your Local Food and Drink Producers

Supporting Local Food Producers

Deborah Monshin

With restrictions on travel and many businesses closed, our dependency on supermarkets is at an all-time high. But now could be the perfect opportunity to support our local businesses as they adapt to click and collect, takeaway or delivery practises in the struggle to survive.

It's certainly easy to sit in a cosy chair, click a few dozen buttons, and by the miracle of modern technology, our food rolls up in a chilled van a few days later. Hurrah! I'm all for simplicity, but what is the price on our health and local economy? It's time to give something back to our community, support the local shops, farm shops, and produce markets as much as possible and continue to support them when they open as usual.

I have been very disappointed with the quality of supermarket fruit and veg for some now. A classic example is a Savoy cabbage. The large deep dark green, vitamin-rich outer leaves are perfect steamed, served with a little salted butter and black pepper. But wait, when did you last see a Savoy cabbage at a supermarket with the large dark green leaves? I can’t remember. What passes as a Savoy cabbage, nowadays, is a pathetic pale leaved little thing.

So what's happened? The sorry little cabbage in the supermarket is old, so the dark green vitamin-rich leaves have been removed as they've deteriorated, leaving the heart of the cabbage. It's not news that the fruit and vegetables in our supermarkets have been sprayed with wax, injected, chilled, and buffed to keep it 'looking' fresh and inviting (and to a lesser extent, fish and meat). But the glossy looking apples are just a show. The only benefit of buying fruit and veg from a supermarket is that we have access to foods outside our seasonal varieties, and everything is under one roof. But supermarket produce is often picked before they are ripe, which results in a loss of nutrients. Produce has travelled halfway around the world and is kept in cold storage long before it appears on the shelves, which is appalling for the environment. So much edible food is rejected to conform to strict size and

So what can we do?

shape regulations. Why buy your produce from businesses with so little regard for the environment, waste, or your health?

Buying local supports small businesses, creates employment, and your money stays local to be reinvested in the company and the community. Communities thrive with a variety of small independent retailers, but they need your support to grow. The produce is fresher, with reduced time between farm and plate (so lower carbon emissions, which is good for the environment), and food hasn't been preserved post picking. The fruit and vegetables have been picked at their optimal ripeness and thus retain most of the vital nutrients we need. If you can afford to buy organic, even better, farmers will have used no pesticides during growing.

Farmers Markets / Farm Shops / Street Markets

Meat and fish will usually be locally sourced (Morecambe bay shrimps yum!), high quality, and free of added water and preservatives. Mostly the fruit and vegetables are from local farms. I love carrots and potatoes still covered in soil; taste trumps looks, you may get wonky two-legged carrots, and how fantastic is that! Eggs are as fresh as they can be. With large poly-tunnel enterprises, even 'exotic' fruit is starting to be grown in the UK.

Veg box schemes

Not all schemes are equal. There's at least one veg box company that hauls their produce the country's full length, so don't assume they provide local produce; ask where they source it. Expect seasonal vegetable products and some imported fruit. If I had a smallholding, I would love to do this! Unfortunately, we don't all have acres of fertile land at our disposal, but it's worth contacting your council regarding the availability of allotments. But, fruit bushes grow very well in pots, and some types of fruit trees now produce a lot of fruit on a compact tree. Salad vegetables, potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, courgettes, tomatoes, strawberries, and herbs are all easy to grow, in borders or pots. So what could you grow this year? It is easy and convenient to buy food from supermarkets, even when we know that much of the fresh produce is not as fresh as we would like. So, how about taking steps to buy at least some of your fresh food locally? You really will notice the taste difference, and you'll get a happy buzz knowing you are supporting the hard-working food producers in your local community.