Our Plan: build a new local food economy

Our inspiration is the food project in Schwäbisch Hall in Germany.

(An English language summary of the project is on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation website.) The project started with a handful of farmers in 1988 and has grown enormously, with over 1500 businesses participating. The farmers tackled the problem of supermarkets by building their own chain, attached to really nice food halls. The association now owns and runs a large meat processing factory producing a wide range of processed meats from pork raised by local farmers. The farmers set up a charitable foundation that bought the region’s castle, now run as a hotel and conference centre. The organisation heavily emphasises organic production, works to get a fair price for all products, builds marketing capacity, works to improve farm incomes and promotes regional development.

Like this project in Germany, we have to build a new local food economy that has been decimated by the system of industrial food production and supermarkets.

This takes a LONG TIME, as it did in Germany. We have to crank up local supply and demand bit by bit. We have built a website with information and advice on how to start a food business.

 

Photo: JackPeasePhotograph. Flickr, Creative Commons

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