Here's an article on a recent local food conference, published a couple of weeks ago in Irish Examiner.
Local food is sexy. Last March Time magazine ran a cover story featuring a big red apple with a green leaf and a sticker on its side. This sticker provocatively proclaimed �forget organic: eat local�.
Whatever about the veracity or otherwise of the statement, if the attendance at the Local Food conference last week in Mullingar is anything to go by, then local food is fast become sexy in Ireland too.
The conference, organised by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Bord Bia, was on on a Tuesday evening, free to attend and consequently packed. Not only that, this was no academic talk shop: there were an exceptional number of inquisitive conventional farmers amongst the 250-odd attendees, farmers eager to find out about their options.
They heard that, according to newly commissioned research by Bord Bia, seven out of ten shoppers prefer to buy local food, with 93 percent of those that buy local doing so because they want to support the local economy.
This research, presented by Helen King, senior business analyst with Bord Bia, suggested that authenticity was key: health, naturalness and freshness are primary consumer motivators.
Helen King also made recommendations to the many producers present: maintaining the personal touch, and the feel of local food, even as you expand, is important. To do this, it makes sense to emphasise tradition and providence, and to try to keep genuine connections with consumers.
There were other positive stories for those considering setting up small food businesses to sell locally.
Minister of State for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent opened proceedings, emphasising the importance of the agri-food sector, but also the growing desire consumers have for �speciality, regional local and organic food�.
Tim Schlitzer from the FoodRoutes network presented on the situation in the US, where FoodRoutes has helped many farmers maintain and indeed develop their livlihoods. FoodRoutes have over 45 �buy fresh buy local� chapters, which aim to empower local economies, create healthy communities and thus healthy people.
Tim suggested that research in the US found that 71% of consumers would be willing to spend more on local food; that a �buy fresh buy local� campaign and guide in Philadelphia doubled local food purchases amongst a range of institutional players, including hospitals, retirement homes, restaurants, grocers and colleges; and that even a 1% shift �in consumer expenditures to direct purchasing of local food products could increase farmers� income by as much as 5%�.
A panel discussion followed Tim�s presentation. Because of the size, diversity and knowledge levels of the audience, the contributions from the floor were every bit as interesting as what came from the presentations and panels.
Perhaps the most striking question came from Michael Connolly, from a sustainability group in Monaghan. Michael directed a query specifically to Minister Sargent. He asked the Minister how much of our food is imported and how is Ireland equipped for energy descent? Energy descent refers to the depletion of oil reserves; in other words, how is Ireland equipped to cope in a world with ever less available and ever more expensive oil? The minister was quite forthright on both counts. He addressed the specific gaps in local availability: yes, the majority of the meat, milk and their derivative products we consume are Irish. You could be forgiven for asking � so what�s the big deal with local then? The big deal is that fresh fruits and vegetables are in dire need of support, both from a consumer health and food security perspective.
There are less than a handful of large conventional carrot growers left in Ireland, and even fewer brussels� sprout producers. And that�s before energy decent. So at the moment, he suggested, we haven�t a chance of surviving energy decent. And if we loose local food providers, in a context of energy decent, we risk social unrest.
There were also presentations, and indeed short films with a more specifically Irish theme.
To some extent, this is where the messages from the podium started to get a bit mixed. The presentation by Sharon Buckley, (Trading Director Musgraves group, which includes Supervalu and Centra) was ostensibly about local food and the Musgraves group: in practice, the presentation simply outlined the history and current business development of the Musgraves group, with occasional references to local food sourcing. A short film of a new large Supervalu store in Kells Co. Meath, in the middle of her presentation, did little to expand upon the local food theme either.
Sharon did suggest that the local ownership of Supervalu stores allowed these stores to be more a part of the community. There are indeed some standout Supervalus, stores with a plethora of quality food of local provenance, such as Scally�s of Clonakilty. Likewise, the next presenter, Mary Kelly of Kelly�s Organics in Mullingar, sell some of the produce through their local Centras and Supervalus. Overall however, the presentation did little to convince the audience that Supervalu were in any significant way relevant to or committed to developing a local food culture. From speaking to delegates after the conference, many felt that the aforementioned standout Supervalus are more exceptions than the norm.
Mary Kelly�s presentation and short film presented a genuine good news story for local food, however, and is covered in more detail in the Organic Diary in this farming supplement. But briefly, the Kelly�s Moonshine organics business signposted the way for others to follow: if you are a struggling but open-minded conventional dairy farmer, the Kelly�s story should interest you. Converting to organic, and initiating value-adding through an on-farm production and local distribution of yoghurts, fresh cheeses and smoothies changed their farming lives for the better.
There was then another panel discussion, with more contributions from the floor. The main queries and statements revolved around retailer policy. One beef and lamb farmer stated, to applause, �we can�t donate food to you any longer�; he compared the price he gets (�3.50 per kilo) to the price the lamb retails for (�13.99 a kilo) on the shelves. Sharon Buckley responded by stating that they have been paying increased prices for some categories, but still need to compete with other retailers.
There was also some discussion on whether there was in fact a limit on the amount of local food supermarkets would take in: some suggested that there was a 5% limit on locally sourced products, however there was no clear answer from the panellists. Mary Kelly did reiterate that her local Supervalu did take her products, however.
Others criticised the effect of central distribution and own brand labelling on local provisioning of local, as opposed to just generic Irish produce. Potatoes were cited as a particular example. Peter Ward, of Country Choice in Tipperary was typically eloquent when he welcomed Supervalu into the local provisioning world, after �meeting St. Paul on the road to Damascus�. He pointed out that before centralised distribution, you could get local potatoes easily, and wished them well on the long road they faced ahead, in convincing people of their local credentials.
Following these presentations, Minister Sargent announced the arrival of a new guide, published by Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, to selling through farmers� markets, farm shops and box schemes in Ireland. Details of this guide are in the caption box.
All in all, the mood at this event was very upbeat. Yes, there are serious obstacles to face in guaranteeing local supply of the range of foods we need to be healthy, and yes there is sometimes a gap between rhetoric and reality with regard to local. However, this part of the agri-food sector has a committed and knowledgeable Minister of State in Trevor Sargent. And with some of what is sometimes called blue sky thinking, including the conversion over to local provisioning by creative conventional producers, a la the Kelly�s of Mullingar, we may start to develop a genuine, deep and embedded local food culture.
Note:
The newly published �Guide to selling through farmers� markets, farm shops and box schemes in Ireland� as the name suggests, features sections on each of these local selling options: farmer�s markets, farm shops and box schemes. There are also some interesting sections including getting started at a farmers� market; your first day at the farmers� market; a pricing appendix and useful contacts. This 64 page A5 sized guide will certainly prove useful as an introduction to the potentialities of and for local food selling. Much of this information ,and plenty more useful information too, is also available on a new Bord Bia small food business website, which is far more user-friendly than the main bord bia website. See here (www.bordbiavantage.ie.)
