Does buying local matter?
Provenance – Our customers want to know the origin of what they consume and the environmental impact of buying local and product choices. Many are becoming more concerned about the planet regarding how their food is reared, produced, transported, and then sold. It’s all about what does buying local matter to you, your children and long term their children too.
Like many small artisan producers, we consciously aim to use UK sourced ingredients and, when possible, local suppliers such as Dobson on the main street in Kendal and Mark White the greengrocery at Altrincham Market. Our primary ingredients come from Gilchester Organics, in Northumberland and Warminster Maltings, in Wiltshire and Matthews Flour. They are hugely environmentally conscious and operate with consideration to the planet too. All we do is done with care, it’s far from easy, and like so many others, we try. Does buying local matter to us?YES.
Food supply chain
The general food chain feels vulnerable currently. Once an individual element of a food supply chain is affected, the whole food supply chain feels unsteady. We have gone from no Marmite and the packaging challenges to, most recently, the rise in ingredient costs.
Several factors have recently highlighted the fragility of longer supply chains, specifically the pandemic, Brexit, and the ongoing climate emergency. As a result, buying local is becoming more and more significant. Sourcing local and sustainable food sources is now more critical than ever. The long game will make us more creative as a producer, we now use Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire Cheese, and we plan to experiment even further, making does buying local matter if you want to support your like-minded in the region. YES we do
If you love your greens
Consider visiting your local markets, stores or even better, take a peek at Groobarbs if you live in the Cheshire location. We are blessed with Kendal Farmers Market and have the luxury of being three strides away from Mark Whites Fruit and Vegetables at Alty. As I am sharing with you, it’s become apparent we are surrounded by local food producers. It’s just a matter of looking and changing perhaps a few shopping habits.
Happily, short food supply chains involve very few intermediaries, and, in most cases, this also means that produce only travels a short distance. The bonus – You build your kiddies build a lovely relationship; together, we treasure every single customer and their kids, even the four-legged kids. They are a joy, and it’s a privilege.
We have become more health and environmentally conscious and are now voting with our feet, demanding more locally produced foods. Make sure your feet take you in the right direction this weekend.
A topic of conversation at the moment
- Petrol prices at an eight-year high
- Energy prices at a record high
- The lack of safe food containers to transport goods globally
- A lack of qualified logistics drivers
- Increasing food prices
- We say, stay and shop local, learn to love local again.
There are economic, environmental, and social benefits to a shorter food chain. The increased connection to where their food comes from leads to less waste and increased trust among consumers, which is why many of our fellow artisan producers fully support the increased development of short supply chains.
Let’s make a date each Friday and join us at Altrincham Market – It’s fantastic, beautiful greens, cheese, fish, flowers, wine, and sourdough loaves of bread! It’s a destination packed with household essentials.
Save the date – Join us on the 29th October 2021 at Kendal Farmers Market.
Make plans this weekend and support those where you live …
Catherine
