Washing Away the Sour Taste

New Ground 64
Spring 2003

Inequitable? Bad for consumers? Worse for the environment? Sadly, the food business in Britain has become all of these things. Mike Collins outlines practical attempts in Southampton to change all that.

The old adage says that "you are what you eat". Food is important in determining our quality of life and has come to symbolise many of the inequalities that exist in the UK today.

There has been much debate about farming following the BSE crisis and the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The latter prompted the Curry Commission investigation into the future of farming.

The power of the supermarkets and the decline of local shops have been well documented, while the best-selling book Fast Food Nation alerted us to many of the concerns associated with the global fast food industry.

In recent years, the narrow definition of food as fuel has been broadened. Food poverty has at last become an issue that policy-makers recognise. The existence of food deserts, where those on low incomes lack access to the fresh fruit and vegetables needed for a healthy diet, has been acknowledged, and policies prescribed. Concern about food miles as food travels halfway across the world has prompted higher demand for local food. Well-publicised campaigns stress that fresh food is important for health.

Yet messages about food remain mixed. They range from increasing government support for organic farming to tacit criticism of organic food by the Food Standards Agency.

Furthermore, little seems to be changing despite the fine words. The wheels of government turn slowly. The real engine of change needs to be local initiatives. After all, the Rio Earth Summit urged the world to ‘think global, act local’.

Early in 2003, food campaigners did just that in one city, Southampton. Southampton is just like any other medium-sized city and is no stranger to deprivation. There are a large number of supermarkets, a sprinkling of local food projects, and the city is surrounded by farmland. However, these factors have tended to be dealt with in isolation.

The Food for All conference in January aimed to break the mould, developing a city-wide food policy by setting up a Southampton Food Network (SFN). The London Food Network has already developed a voice on food in London and campaigners hope that the Southampton network will follow suit. By bringing together people involved with every aspect of the food chain, the conference examined how food affects issues ranging from health to local community.

There are already many innovative food-related projects in Southampton, making a difference to the lives of local people. Access to food and the ability to get fresh produce is a major issue. More than a third of people in the city lack access to a car and have limited options for buying fresh fruit and vegetables. The decline of small grocery shops means that food co-operatives, where people can get access to varied foods at affordable prices, are increasingly important.

Among these initiatives is The Basics Bank, set up by a charity that tackles poverty. The bank supplies food at no cost to those who are struggling to make ends meet, often having to choose between paying bills or feeding the family. Referral to the bank is made by local agencies and it is expected to feed more than 6,000 people this financial year with donations of food from across the city.

Another success has been The Co-operative Bunch, a local food co-op which has been running for 18 months in Southampton city centre. Through providing access to affordable fresh fruit and vegetables, the co-op plays an important role both in bringing local people together and in employing them to run the co-op. Demand for the co-op’s food continues to rise and it now plans to offer people cooking and tasting sessions.

Southampton is surrounded by Hampshire farmland. Yet the relationship between local food producers and consumers has been minimal. Campaigners hope that a future SFN will develop stronger links with local farmers and growers by working with Hampshire Fare, a county council initiative that promotes local food. This would increase availability of local produce and give farmers a fair price for it. Farmers’ markets and box schemes are also part of the answer. However, developing a link between those on lower incomes in the city and nearby farmers would be an innovative way of showing how farmers can help increase access to fresh food. People on low incomes might have less individual spending power, but together they could represent a regular source of income through either a local food co-op or a community-run store.

The Food for All conference brought together many people who work within the food chain. Key themes that emerged from the conference included widespread agreement on the importance of increasing awareness of healthy, local food and the need to enthuse the next generation about it through schools. The conference also saw a need for people to visit local farms to see food being grown and reared. Mapping local food initiatives and projects would show where the food deserts are and be useful in planning mechanisms to support local shops across the city. Delegates also debated how to support Hampshire local producers and supported a Southampton farmers’ market. Neither was the public sector forgotten. Public procurement has immense purchasing power and could play a major role in promoting local food and making it available in schools and hospitals.

The conference was the start of a process that could provide thousands of people with healthy, affordable food while supporting local farmers and cutting food miles. A Southampton Food Network will take time to develop, however, and will need to engage with those involved in the food chain while demonstrating to decision-makers that food is an issue that touches so many other concerns.

Mike Collins is a researcher for Southampton MP Alan Whitehead, writing in a personal capacity.