local food  - making a difference

 

f3 services










-
contact us


0845 458 0060
PO Box 1234,
Bristol BS99 2PG

 

site by Lightgreen


 

f3 - the local food consultants
Local Food News - Spring 08


NEWS

Grants Now Available For Local Food Schemes
Local Food, a new and exciting grants programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund, is open for applications. The £50 million programme aimed at making locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities has been developed by a consortium of organisations, and is managed on their behalf by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT).

National food discussion in Scotland
The first steps towards a national policy for food, designed to boost jobs and business, help make food healthier and minimise the environmental impact of food production, manufacture and retail, have been taken by the Scottish Government. The food policy, which would be the first of its kind in the UK, aims to join up government policy on every part of the food chain from farm gate to plate. The discussion document 'Choosing the Right Ingredients' provides an opportunity for those across all sectors of the food industry, wider public and voluntary sectors, alongside everyone with an interest in food in Scotland to become involved in the conversation to inform a long term vision for food in Scotland.

No controls over farmers' markets
Matthew Fort writes, on the challenge facing farmers' markets, 'The fact is that no one is responsible for protecting farmers' markets and ensuring certain standards are kept. Only London has someone dedicated to sorting out the confusions that inevitably attend the markets. True, there is Farma (the National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association), but many farmers' markets aren't members of it - that's why no one knows how many there are. There's no central register, no generally agreed licensing system. It's like the wild west out there.'
Guardian Weekend magazine (p.49), 5th January 2008

Public Sector lambasted for not using local food
The UK public sector has not got the message that purchasing local food helps support local jobs and provides better value and quality, according the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). Recent research suggests that locally produced food accounts for only 2% of all food purchased by public sector organisations. That means that of the £1.8bn spent on food by that sector, only £36m goes to local, British food producers.
Farmers Weekly 21 Jan (p.14); Farmers Guardian (p.10)

Schools chosen to go forward for Food for Life Catering Mark
In April the Soil Association will be launching a Food for Life Catering Mark at bronze, silver and gold levels which will enable caterers to demonstrate their commitment to using an increasing amount of fresh, local and organic ingredients. Linden Road primary school, Glossop, is one of six schools in the north west chosen by assessors to go forward for the scheme in a bid to increase awareness among pupils of how the food they eat is grown.
Glossop Advertiser (24 Jan, p.37)
For more information about the Food for Life Partnership visit:

Heinz challenged to drop 'phoney' Farmers' Market claims
An alliance of consumer groups and environmental organisations are calling on the food giant Heinz to drop its "phoney" environmental claims in a recent £1.6m advertising campaign. The alliance says that Heinz should not claim that its canned soups contain "ingredients that you would find at a Farmers' Market", and have complained to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Sustain 25 January 2008

Food price rises threaten global security
Rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability, the UN's top humanitarian official warned yesterday after two days of rioting in Egypt over the doubling of prices of basic foods in a year and protests in other parts of the world.

Shoppers choosing local may not be as green as they think
Researchers are finding that food miles are far from the whole story when assessing the environmental impact of what we eat. At a conference in January on the economics of food, Chris Foster of Manchester Business School said that the biggest environmental impact of many food products came from their production. Bulk transport by land or sea was of "low significance". And he suggested that policy-makers should "critically unpick the 'local food' agenda".
To get a broader view, researchers now prefer what they call the "life cycle assessment" (LCA) of food products. LCA tries to encapsulate the whole environmental impact of growing, transporting, selling and consuming a product - from farm to fork.
The Sunday Times - News review 3 February

Pilot scheme primary school inspires others to source local and organic food
East Ayrshire Council's efforts to source local and organic food for its schools has won praise from Soil Association Scotland. Robin Gourlay, head of catering at the council began a scheme in 2004 to create innovative menus with locally-sourced organic food for primary children. Since then the pilot school for his project, Hurlford Primary in Kilmarnock, has won an award from the Soil Association and inspired others schools to follow suit.
The Scotsman, 13 February

Farmers' plea to save our bacon
Pig farmers across the country are in crisis because huge increases in the price of grain mean they are losing up to £20 for every animal they produce. Experts warn the industry faces catastrophe unless the price of pork and bacon rises, a move so far rejected by supermarkets.
The 'Save Our Bacon' campaign was launched at Borough Market in London, backed by celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein and Fergus Henderson.
The Observer (17 Feb, p.21); The Independent on Sunday (17 Feb, p.7)

New Tesco strategy to stock local
Tesco unveiled its strategy to ramp up support for British farmers with plans to sell £400m of local produce in its stores this year. Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy will also set a new target to sell £1bn of local by 2011, at the National Farmers Union annual conference in London. Tesco has opened five new local buying offices and has said it aims to stock more local lines than any of its rivals.
The Daily Telegraph Business (18 Feb, p.3)

Shoppers showing more concern about food issues
Shoppers' purchasing decisions are notably shifting from 'value-for-money' to 'values-for-money' according to research by TNS Worldpanel. Fair trade and free range are trends that have moved from niche to mainstream, they said. Local produce is another area showing growth: in the last year 27% of people purchased red meat from a farmers' market. However, confusing labelling continues to bamboozle consumers, they added.
Farmers Weekly 1 Feb, p.28)

British so reluctant to protect their regional food
We have just a few specialities on the EU list of foods with protected status - it includes the likes of Newcastle Brown Ale, Whitstable Oysters and Stilton Cheese. In fact there are only 36 protected British foods compared to Italy's 155 and France's 149.
Farming Farming Today, BBC Radio 4, 5 February 2008

New Covent Garden Market's Celebration of Local Food
An event to mark a three year partnership between New Covent Garden Market and the South East Food Group Partnership took place on 20 February with Sir Don Curry and over 60 producers. The project being launched under the banner of "Local to London" will focus on bringing together the entire supply chain, from regional producers to wholesale traders and distributors, buyers from both the public and private sectors, and chefs. Further events and activity are to follow this one, with a target to increase the proportion of local food in London by 15 per cent, in line with the London Food Strategy.
Contact: Henriette Reinders, South East Food Group Partnership on 02392 452288 or Tom Beeston on 07957 357 201 or tom.beeston@cgma.gov.uk


Publications & events

11, 12 & 13 April 2008
Exeter Festival of South West England Food and Drink -
Location: Northernhay Gardens, Exeter
Website: www.visitsouthwest.co.uk/exeterfoodfestival/

Real Food Festival Earl's Court 24-26 April
Fall in love with food all over again…the very best line-up of produce and ingredients, incredible wines and drinks from small, unique producers, and a comprehensive programme of entertaining and educational workshops
http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk

24 May - 1 June
English Wine Week
www.englishwineweek.co.uk

Places to stay with local food
A new guide published by Green Books lists more than 500 hotels and B&Bs that offer organic, local and sometimes home-grown produce. Visit: greenbooks.co.uk


New Guide for Sustainable Procurement
Considerate Hoteliers has published The Green Source, a guide to sustainable purchasing for the hotel industry, funded by the London Development Agency, and containing an extensive section for Food & Beverage. Download free of charge from www.consideratehoteliers.com

Hampshire Fares
Free new 2008 directory 'Food, Drink and Craft'. A comprehensive guide to Hampshire food, drink and craft producers, and also includes places to enjoy and shop for local produce, listing around 200 individual food, drink and craft producers, farm shops and delicatessens, restaurants, pubs, tea rooms and places to stay. Also included are dates of Hampshire Farmers‚ markets and special events across Hampshire.


f3 news - recent commissions:

Devon County Council: analysis of the opportunities for public sector procurement, with a focus on practical solutions for opted out schools.

NE Region: working with SAC to map supply chain and distribution options, identify market gaps, facilitate new collaborations or recommend new infrastructure, to enable shorter regional supply chains.

Good Food on the Public Plate: an evaluation and analysis of the successes and frustrations of this five year project, for Sustain.

Sussex Food Hub: a business plan for SEEDA to identify feasible solutions to create a combined incubator, food business cluster and distribution enterprise - now near completion.


Jobs

Local Food Development Worker job based in Cardiff: work with local groups and residents to plan and deliver practical food and health activities
Contract: One year contract, renewable up to three years
Hours: Full time, part time and job share considered
Salary: £17,000 ­ 22,000 depending on experience
Base: Community location ­ South Riverside
contact : Steve Garrett, 029 2019 0036, mail@riversidemarket.org.uk


Job adverts cost £100 (circulation over 1200)

Right ro reply:

If you take issue with any of the items listed above, please email us and we will publish any reply.

Sign up for Local Food News

e-mail
first name
last name
business

We will not use your details for any other purpose or give to others



back to top