Mapping Local Food Webs
An innovative Mapping Local Food Webs project is coming to....
And there was an event in Newark on 2 September 2009....
Local food - your help needed
NewarkAn innovative new project is exploring the benefits of local food to the local community, economy and the countryside. The project, part of a national initiative led by CPRE is piloting new ways of mapping the local food network, or ‘food web' at various locations around the East Midlands, including Leicester, Newark and Louth.
A food web consists of the links between farmers and growers, processors, suppliers, local food shops as well as other local food providers (such as farmers markets, box schemes, community supported agriculture and food cooperatives) through to consumers.
The Mapping Local Food Webs project is a new national initiative to engage the skills and knowledge of local people to research the spread of local food networks from consumer to producer and their impact on the local community, economy and the countryside. In total the Mapping Local Food Webs project will cover thirty towns and cities across England.
The project forms part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery from 2007-2012. The project is led by CPRE with the support of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.
All those interested in finding out more about the project, please contact David Rose, CPRE's East Midlands Regional Coordinator for the Food Webs project (tel: 07855 252151; davidr@cpre.org.uk)
Find more information on Mapping Local Food Webs.
More than 50 local farmers and produce suppliers attended our public meeting and workshop in Newark Town Hall, about local food, on 2 September. The meeting was part of a Campaign to Protect Rural England local food project currently taking place in Newark.
The workshop provided an opportunity to meet others, enjoy free local food and be part of a pioneering new project, Mapping Local Food Webs.
It was organised by David Rose of Shackerdale Farm, Car Colston, the East Midlands co-ordinator for a national project covering 22 towns, aimed at encouraging people to buy locally-produced food from local retailers. It's part of a five-year Making Local Food Work programme, paid for by the National Lottery, and led by the Campaign To Protect Rural England (CPRE).
Through the workshop we aimed to:
• Learn about local people's experience of local food and what local food means to them.
• Gain a better understanding of issues around local food that are particularly important in the area.
• Learn about strengths and weaknesses in the local food network - from farmer, to retailer, to customer.
• Begin to explore possibilities for action.
At this workshop we heard from local people, including shopkeepers, farmers, decision makers and local residents.
Through the Mapping Local Food Webs project we aim to engage local people in exploring what local food really means for local communities, economies and the countryside, gain a better understanding of some of the challenges facing local farmers and shopkeepers, build links within the community between local residents, shopkeepers, farmers and policy makers, and create opportunities to influence local, regional and national policy and planning decisions.
David Rose was impressed by the turn-out at the meeting:
"I have never found anywhere with such interest in local foods," he said. "We have 46 cafes and restaurants that use local produce."
The findings from the meeting are being compiled in a report, due to be published next year.
"We will then look at who can drive it forward," added David Rose. "It could be Newark Business Club, Newark and Sherwood District Council or the Food and Drink Forum, or they could all come together and employ someone to do this."
To find out more, contact David Rose
East Midlands Coordinator
Mapping Local Food Webs
07855 252151 Back to top
Fiona Cowan
27 September 2009
Downloads:
Mapping Local Food Webs - Introduction
(615 Kb)