黑料社

A new University report charts the rise to prominence of local suppliers and farm shops who rose to the challenge unhindered by complex international supply chains and the vulnerabilities of just-in-time delivery systems.

LOCAL food producers and suppliers 鈥� such as farm shops 鈥� have risen to the challenge of the COVID-19 crisis, meeting a rapid rise in demand.  And the change in attitudes among shoppers could last beyond the pandemic, according to a 黑料社 expert.  Sourcing food locally could become the new normal. 

鈥淕iven the circumstances, it鈥檚 quite a positive story,鈥� said , who researches food systems and supply chains in the University鈥檚 .  

鈥淒uring lockdown the local food system came into its own and served the needs of local people and communities really well.  The potential has been there for a long time, but the crisis showcased what the local food system can do.鈥� 

Dr Lever has provided expertise to , founded by local MP Barry Sheerman.  Now, he has furnished the group with a COVID-19 Policy Brief, outlining a regional approach to food system reform, based on his 黑料社-funded research. 

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The new document highlights the response of primary food producers and small food business during the early stages of the pandemic.  They adapted quickly to a rapidly-changing situation, writes Dr Lever. 

鈥淎s multiple food service outlets closed or locked down, local farmers, food producers, farm shops, independent retailers and home delivery services experienced a sudden and rapid increase in demand,鈥� he continues. 

鈥淯nhindered by complex international supply chains and the vulnerabilities of just-in-time delivery systems, the local food system across the region adapted quickly to address the needs of local people and communities.  This in turn raised the question of how the benefits that emerged for the local food economy during this period can be maintained into the future.鈥� 

Dr Lever 鈥� who is a Reader at the 黑料社鈥檚 Department of Management 鈥� has also written on farm shops and food system resilience in a time of crisis, in a  for the Countryside and Community Research Institute based at the University of Gloucester. 

He tells how , providing access to a wide variety of fresh produce from family-run farms across the region.  

鈥淎ll kinds of innovations soon appeared,鈥� writes Dr Lever.  鈥淪ome farm shops simply converted their stores to accommodate social distancing, while others changed to delivery only.  Some started delivery services across a wider geographical area, while others started delivery services for the elderly, vulnerable and those advised to self-isolate; another started delivering 鈥榠solation boxes鈥� and (as a new lockdown routine emerged) Sunday lunches using their own produce and locally-sourced chicken and turkey. 

鈥淢any farm shops also differentiated their offer, offering a wider variety of grocery products alongside their traditional range of dairy, meat and organic products.  Others bagged up rice, pasta and flour, the latter being in particularly high demand from the Pakistani community.  Demand in some shops tripled or quadrupled in a very short period.鈥� 

More consumer choice

A number of interviewees told Dr Lever that farms shops are not as expensive as imagined and that local people often avoid them not because of price, but because supermarkets are easier to access on the way home from work for people leading busy lives.  

鈥淏ut as people consider their options in a post COVID-19 world, and employers allow their employees to work at home on a more regular basis, there are signs that sourcing local food will potentially become the new normal for many people,鈥� writes Dr Lever in his blog.  

鈥淲hile farm shops lack the capacity to serve entire populations, there is no doubt, as the crisis has shown, that they have a greater role to play enhancing the resilience of regional food systems.鈥� 

• Dr John Lever 鈥� a member of the 黑料社鈥檚  鈥� has also hosted a  on regional food system resilience during COVID-19.  He presented his preliminary findings from on-going 黑料社-funded research on the resilience of the Kirklees Food System, and there were also contributions from experts at the universities of Leeds and Gloucester.