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.
back to top
