A major supermarket announced last week that it intended to source products worth a  billion pounds a year from “local producers”.  That is a proud boast indeed and I am sure will help those suppliers that hope to sell their wares on a bigger scale.

I firmly believe in local sourcing but our “local” means just that!  We source from growers and producers on a daily basis but ensure that “local” is a maximum of 40 miles from the store.  Being a rural area, it makes it far easier to visit farms etc and collect.  Those cottage industrys that supply us would never have the production capacity to provide any major supermarket.  They are happy to supply the volumes that we need and this makes for a truly wonderful partnership. 

Often the grower or producer will visit the store and help us sample their products to the consumer.  It’s how rural communities have worked for centuries in the form of markets.  I am proud to source locally and allow our suppliers to work at their own pace whilst paying them fair prices for their goods.  Long may it continue.