
Buy Local
Jul 25, 2017 · 2 min read
The next in my arsenal of ways to eat more sustainably is shopping and buying locally.
Over the last few years there has been a mass explosion of small independent food businesses in my area, and there seems to be real appetite for shopping this way. For me shopping locally, and buying directly from the growers, makers and producers feels like a direct response to large-scale industrial food production and the dominance of the supermarket giants.
Sounds great, but what are the benefits to buying local?
- Taste and freshness. Local food is grown, or produced closer to where you live, so logically is fresher and more tasty as a result. Plus locally produced food should mean it’s seasonal too.
- The environment will benefit. Buying local food will reduce those food miles, and won’t incur harmful emissions caused by long-distance transportation. Who doesn’t like biting into a locally grown fruit and veg, which has had a short journey from field to fork? You can almost taste the earth, right?
- Supporting local food producers means you are putting money back into your local community, and will mean you are more likely to be supporting smaller scale businesses and entrepreneurs, rather than large corporations.
- You can reconnect to where your food comes from in a way that is hard to get from anything pre-packed and sold from a supermarket shelf. I like knowing the story behind where things come from and who grew it or made it.
How to buy local, like a pro:
- Are you lucky enough to live near a farm shop or a good farmers market? They’re a good start! Check out Farmshop.uk.com to find your nearest one.
- Seek out your local butchers, greengrocers, cheesemakers, fishmongers, and bakers, rather than buying everything from the supermarkets. Ask them about the produce they’re selling! What is grown locally? What is in season? Who are their suppliers? For example e5 Bakehouse in Hackney only uses UK grown grain in their sourdough bread rather than importing flour from overseas. Do your research!
- Join a local Food Assembly or sign up to a Community Supported Agriculture scheme so you can buy directly from local food producers.
- Check out your local community gardens, allotments or community food schemes. I’ve said this before but you can’t get more local than this. Soleshare is a great fish box scheme. My favourite veg box is Growing Communities but there are plenty of other options nationwide.

