Local Demand and Supply

This year’s Borderlines Film Festival — the UK's largest rural film festival — offered a rarebit treat: two short films from the BBC archives that reframed local food through a 50 year lens, and documented the role of food in local culture and identity.

Congratulations to the fantastic team behind the film, "Six Inches of Soil".  They have been nominated for the  BBC Food and Farming Awards Digital Creator" Award. 

Hopefully you managed to get to one of the ten screeenings of the film that the Alliance organised throughout the county.  The  announcemnet will be made at the awards in Bristol on 18th November... watch this space.

The team are currently exploring regenerative dairy. Hear all about it on their podcast.. 

Over the last two years, in 12 assemblies and now in community led conversations all around the UK, FFCC has brought together a diverse and representative group of people from all backgrounds, in a ‘gold standard’ process, to ask them: “So, what do we really want from food?”.  Your voices have been heard too. Herefordshire citizens fed in through an HFA hosted Food Conversation back in Summer 2024 with Ledbury Food Group at Burgage Hall, Ledbury as well as in Bromyard last Autumn. Blog post here on Ledbury conversation.

The anouncement is broadly welcomed, as is the governments intention to join up government departments to tackle the complex and urgent reform of the food system.

However, it is disappointing to see so little representation from civil society, public health, environment, nature-friendly farmers, food partnerships and pioneers of local and regional action that will be so integral to a national Food Strategy's success.

Herefordshire Food Alliance is part of The Marches Partnership which is a partnership with Powys, Monmothshire, Shropshire that seeks to create a food system for the Marches fit for future generations. We need your help with a bit of market research!...please share this with your networks. !

Six Inches of Soil moves to the west of the county on 28th February when we head to St. Peter's Hub, Peterchurch.

Burgage Hall in Ledbury was packed this Monday 27th January when over 90 people came to see our Ledbury showing of Six Inches of Soil. 

We were treated to a feast of local food, featuring vegetables and produce from Little Marcle Organic Produce, Growing Local, The Handmade Scotch Egg Company and The Fold Veg Shed. Followed by a brilliant Q&A with James Marsden (Gregg's Pit Cider and Chair of Herefordshire Climate and Nature Partnership Board), Joshua Davenport (Little Marcle Organic Produce), Harvey Clay (Showle Dairy) and Ed Godsall (Mixed arable farm and agritourism) and chaired by Patrick Wrixon - North West Herefordshire Farmer and chair of the NFU Members Association in the county and founder and chairman of The Cart Shed charity.

It's that time of year when the snowdrops are coming up and those of us who enjoy growing start thinking about getting some seeds in the ground, or at the very least planning the season ahead. Maybe you don't currently grow anything and would love to but don't know where and how to start?

Head to one of these seed swaps happening in the county over the next weeks to get your hands on and share seeds. Learn more about the importance of seed saving to safeguard our future year's of harvests on a local and national level. Have a chat with someone swapping their seeds and learn how to grow them!

We are recruiting!  (Please note that this is a re-advertisement, deadline now 15th Jan 2025 and is based in Herefordshire)

Herefordshire Food Alliance, connector of all things food in Herefordshire, is recruiting a coordinator.  

The Alliance is a broad network, instigating projects of its own (such as film showings, gleaning events, food conversations, good food database) and supporting other activity in the county towards good food - that supports people, nature and communities.   The county has achieved a Bronze ‘Sustainable Food Places’ Awardand the Alliance supports and shares information that will lead towards a Silver award in the next year.

^{One of the Alliance aims is to support farming and food production that is great for nature and the local economy - here’s one!  You can find more in our} Buy Good Foodpage.

Daphne’s is full of sunshine, whatever the weather..

The owners Autum and Daniel (the team is completed by Lettice) are passionate about good quality, local, seasonal ingredients and both they and their suppliers are rightly proud of these partnerships. The imaginative starters, stand out delicious pizzas and sensational puddings are all delivered with warmth, and an infectious enthusiasm.

Almeley Village Hall was packed to the rafters on Monday as our Six Inches of Soil Roadshow continues! We paired up with Almeley Green Group this time for what was a brilliant example of a whole community getting together in celebration of the food and farming that is on their doorstep, from the community lunch during the day right to the mammoth washing up session at the end! The Green Group have a number of priorities - working around Energy, Nature, Waste, Water Quality and now Food! and meet monthly to talk through existing and future projects. 

101 people from all over the North West Herefordshire community came to feast on local produce, see the film and hear from local farmers Colin Powell and Lucinda Lewis and Grapevine in Kington owner, Martin Peek.

...In good local food in Herefordshire right now?

If you're reading this, you're either interested in or working towards good local food in Herefordshire.  Please help us build a brilliant picture of all that's going on so that we can celebrate it, support it and do more of it!

It will take a very small amount of time and we're happy to receive your thoughts in any way - a quick note+ contact details, a document you already have, or a link. 

Here's the form!  You may see it below or click the link.

Our Six Inches of Soil project got off to a flying start in Bromyard last Friday 13th. The ominous date did not deter 120 people turning out to enjoy the film, food and Q&A.

A big thank you to our panel: Claire Howlett, Louise Manning and Andrew McRobb for providing such valuable insights, the audience for being so engaged, Legges for providing the food and finally to the awesome Conquest volunteers who helped make the night happen without any glitches, what a team!

On Sunday 15 September Herefordshire Food Alliance took part in a conversation focused on food, organised by the 3 Counties Doughnut Economics group.

In brief, Doughnut Economics is a visual framework, shaped like a ring doughnut, combining the concept of planetary boundaries with the complementary concept of social boundaries. To find out more watch this short film.

During the day, a group of around 20 people from the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire shared their thoughts, ideas and concerns about issues facing food suppliers, food producers and communities.

A new report and webinar: quote and details below, here are some headlines.

‘Provide capital and revenue support to expand and enhance sustainable food partnerships and hubs across Wales from 2025-2035’

‘Universal access to a healthy diet – enabling everyone to access healthy and more sustainable food to address trends in diet-related diseases and poverty.’'

• Secure a just transition for farmers and growers with long-term financial support and extended tenancy agreements.
• Prioritise local, sustainably produced food through public procurement to develop local markets and distribution chains.
• Implement a land and marine use framework and national food strategy.
• Reduce the dominance of livestock production and incentivise growing a wider range of sustainable crops to replace imports.
• Enhance food literacy within the education system.

The Marches Real Food and Farming Convergence 2024 is bringing people together to build a resilient and regenerative food future across the Marches. We will be gathering on 4-5^th October at Babbinswood Farm near Oswestry to share, learn, co-create and celebrate. Check out the programme, which covers agroecology, regenerative farming, building strong local supply chains, policy change and food equity. 

Book your place here. Come for the day or camp or stay locally and join us for the whole event, you’ll be sure of stimulating discussion in a beautiful environment, with good local food and music.

The Food Alliance will be there, reporting back on happenings in Herefordshire - please share anything you'd like before the event to Rebecca - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

... and facilitating a session around how we link tourism, sustainable food and nature. What's worked in the Marches, what can we do more of? Looking forward to learning lots, and hope to see you there!

https://www.mrffc.uk/

Would you like to work with the Food Alliance to make the changes we need in our food system happen?

We are an alliance of hundreds,  a steering team of thirty and a paid team of three very part-timers - for our capacity, we have quite a big reach!

We have plans across seven different topic areas in Herefordshire, and a huge number of partnerships to make and maintain - in order to make the shifts in our food system that we all so badly need.

We have volunteering roles across the county, and currently also have paid opportunities for freelance workers who have the skills, experience and passion needed to get some of our plans actioned!

A couple of recent articles of interest:

News in Farmers Weekly of how one company is dropping dairy producers providing 'low volumes of milk' - wonder how this fits with other pushes towards supporting farmers to move towards stock levels that build soil and regenerate rivers...

Plus a useful article from The Guardian explaining the cost to the consumer and the producer of huge food corporations, and how we might break monopolies up. 

Members of the Alliance steering team had a real treat last Friday to meet in person, reflect and plan.  And eat!

Not a single picture was taken - sorry, we were too busy  chatting!  But plenty got done and some draft plans were made.

Please join us in this last bit - have a look at where we got to and let us know what you think about priorities for the next year - 2024 into 2025.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uoZmSckXh34_yPsnc4_GdR4MdwjDzKUdY-lhznbeUKE/edit?usp=sharing

Herefordshire Food Alliance has written to all General Election candidates in Herefordshire to share the brilliant work that has already been achieved by this vibrant alliance, show the evidence for policy that supports partnerships across the UK and ask them what they'll be doing in the next Government to make it happen!  The full letter is below, with any responses we recieve.

Have a look at Sustain's 'Manifesto Tracker'- exploring "political party commitments on food and farming" and evaluates how these pledges align with the Sustain Manifesto 2024, with assessments provided by specialists in various themes such as farming, climate and public health.

... And a blog series - "If I were a Food Minister" from the group behind the Food Conversation.  It crops up again and again in conversations - what would YOU do if you were a Food Minister...? 

Our questions to candidates, and any replies received, are below.

Dear General Election Candidates for Herefordshire!

I am writing to you on behalf of Herefordshire Food Alliance. We are a network of groups, organisations and individuals working towards a thriving and sustainable local food economy – for healthy lives, communities and environment. We’re linked to Sustainable Food Places nationally and proud to say that Herefordshire as a county holds a Bronze Award.

It was exciting and heartening to be part of the national #thefoodconversation on Monday night, right here in Herefordshire.

After a hearty snack of 100% Herefordshire soup, local cheeses, bread and chutneys - we got stuck in to the conversation about our food system. A video set the scene and we then heard from two local producers about where they are in the 'food system'.

What do people want? Well, after looking at many things working, and not working about food right now it was pretty hard to whittle down the very many thoughts in the room but a few themes seemed to run across all the tables and chats.

Policy change- regulating ultra processed foods, and supporting both independent and local food production. But a clear call for policy to be co-created by ALL of us!

The Herefordshire Healthy Schools Programme is being launched later this month ready for schools to start in September.

The programme provides a template for teaching, planning, tracking and monitoring the health and wellbeing of children and young people in primary and secondary schools.
The programme aims to help support and celebrate the good work in schools around the following four themes:

• Emotional health and wellbeing
• Physical activity
• Healthy food, drink and oral health
• Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education (schools only)

The programme includes a free accreditation scheme where schools can be awarded Healthy Schools Status after demonstrating that they can meet
criteria set out in the above four themes.

The weather is looking great for Hellens Garden Festival this weekend and we are delighted that Kirsty from Little Batch will be serving up delicious foraged mocktails using Herefordshire flowers and herbs as well as milk from the Forest of Dean based Chase Farm https://chasemilk.co.uk/

"For Hellens, most of my mocktail and iced tea menu will include foraged, garden grown or locally sourced ingredients, e.g. elderflower & lemon (balm & verbena) iced tea, rhubarb & rose ginger fizz, honeysuckle & hibiscus cooler."

Kirsty had been thinking of changing her milk supply for a while when we got in touch with her to see if we could help connect her with producers. "This initiative at Hellen’s is a good and timely reminder to make the switch!"

Kirsty is also conscious of the waste that can be inherent with the food vending industry "I’m also investing in a soda stream for the caravan to reduce my bottle recycling" isn't that a great idea?!

https://www.littlebatch.co.uk/

We are delighted that a local coffee maker, Adam Brierly at Ramble On Pop-Up Cafe will be swapping his milk to sustainable dairy - Merrimilk for the upcoming Hellens Garden Festival 8th and 9th June.

Shepherd's Sheep's Milk Ice Cream is one of the fantastic local producers coming to Hellens Garden Festival 8th and 9th June https://hellensgardenfestival.co.uk/. They strive to use as much local fruit for their delicious flavours as possible...

"We are lucky in Herefordshire to have such good soft fruit, and we take advantage of that when developing our flavours. This Hellens Garden Festival we will be bringing a sorbet made from Windmill Hill Strawberries, and a Blackcurrant Ripple with blackcurrants also from them. These are such beautiful fruits and their flavour is really brought out in these ice creams. We hope that you enjoy them. At other points in the season we are able to take advantage of the gluts in peoples gardens, producing flavours such as Rhubarb and Ginger ice cream, Discovery Apple sorbet, and Damson and Sloe Gin ice cream.

Are you a new food business in Herefordshire? Ledbury Celebration, being held on Sunday 7th July, is offering 50% off stalls for any food business producing or using local Herefordshire produce, which has started in the last 12 months. Email Griff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out more and book your stall.

This year’s event will again be held in the historic setting of St Katherine’s, Ledbury by the very special 15^th century Master’s House and including Ledbury’s new Town Square area.  Alongside the local produce market, the event will include

We're SO PROUD of this! So many people are working towards joined up, good value, nature-friendly food in Herefordshire and this shows how worthwhile that hard work has been!

The County of Herefordshire is a BRONZE Sustainable Food Place!

Over 85 diners enjoyed a 3 course meal at The Bookshop Hereford in the last of three “100% Herefordshire” Autumn Feasts on Tuesday 14 November.

As well as great local food they were treated to a surprise announcement that the County has achieved a Bronze award from Sustainable Food Places - recognising the collaboration and hard work that’s gone into all areas of the food system in Herefordshire, from food banks through community gardens to restaurants and farming. 

*DEADLINE SUNDAY 3rd DECEMBER* - Sorry!  Please shout if you have an idea, and maybe others in the Alliance can help if you're new to funding. 

The second round of the Rural Enterprise fund is also open with a longer deadline, do get in touch about that too and we can match each other with support. There is also the Business Enterprise Fund that might suit food businesses (not producers)

The Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund is a capital grant scheme that has been funded by the UK Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). It aims to support the tourism sector through providing business growth for small or micro businesses, job creation and the development of tourist infrastructure.

A joint follow-up event with the Marches Real Food & Farming Conference:

"During the Marches Real Food & Farming Conference (MRFFC) we had a session on Collective small-scale mixed farming and heard about the experiences at Canon Frome Court, and this day will kick off with a farm visit to find out more. There will be an opportunity to see what is going on and meet people involved.

 We will be hearing more about Herefordshire Food Alliance events to promote local sourcing, their success and challenges and enjoy a lunch sourced from Herefordshire farm produce will be provided by HFA. There will also be tea and cake.

 In the afternoon we will be taking forward our thinking on bioregional food and farming and looking at the wider context of localized economies and cultures. This will involve mapping and action planning, building from what has emerged from the MRFFC People's Assembly.

Come and share your ideas.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/canon-frome-court-collaborative-food-systems-change-tickets-746934149147

Outline of day

Arrival from 9am for a 9.30 start

• 9:30 Farm tour and discussion on collective small-scale growing
• 12- 1 Local sourcing experience sharing - Herefordshire Food Alliance
• 1-2 Lunch - networking incl with community members
• 2pm Marches bioregion - mapping and planning workshop
• 4pm Close

We have room for 20 people, plus an extra 10 for afternoon only".

Watch again:  The Sustainable Food Places webinar on steps that we can take towards rolling out school meals for all primary children.

"London, Wales and Scotland are rolling out school meals for primary school children, while a handful of local authorities are taking innovative steps to expand current provision of free school meals.

Come and hear from the trailblazers on their journeys toward school food for all, as well as the Children’s Food Campaign and their Say Yes Campaign.

Find out what your area can do next toward a universal approach and an end to the postcode lottery on school meals.

https://www.sustainablefoodplaces.org/events/roadmap-to-action-universal-free-school-meals/

Many thanks to everyone who came to Breakfast on the Farm on Sunday to enjoy food, to talk about their own produce, and to find out more about farming as a solution yesterday!

Chef Simon served up a superb two-course breakfast with honey, berries and oat groats to start, all washed down with juice Kefir and a herb tea blend!  It didn't end there with a plate of cow-lloumi, sausage from within 20 minutes away, Herefordshire baked beans and eggs from the farm - with a seasonal twist of braised apple in place of tomato.  Tasty.

We heard from a few of the people that grew and reared the food and Ruth shared the journey of some of the produce - including some that we weren't able to source in our current system.

Good news - this produce is available, and being sold direct right here in Herefordshire so you can recreate our breakfast feast with all the details below - whether you were there or not! 

So - what do we all really want from food?

The National Food Conversationhas been published and it's fascinating, and easily digestable!

Thousands of people were asked, in a variety of ways, about the potential things that could happen to improve our system.

The headlines are below  - but the conversation found overhwelmingly that people - across ages and political spectrums -  want substantial changes.

Help the whole county get recognised for its work to make great food happen here in Herefordshire.

This Herefordshire Food Alliance formed in January 2021, coming out of the Food Poverty Alliance and the Food and Tourism Partnership.

Soon after that we were able to become members of the Sustainable Food Places network - linking us to everything else going on nationwide to build great local food econoomies, supporting us with funding and meaning we can get more done locally.

The whole county has been really busy since - you can see from the blog! you can see from the blog!

We've come across this case study - A farm in East Ayrshire and East Ayrshire Council in a partnership to get local, organic packaging-free milk through vending machines to schools.

Do you know of anything similar here in Herefordshire?  Any ideas or contacts for how to make this happen in our county?  Vending machines are growing here so maybe it's time to talk to the schools and caterers...?

"People are recognizing that connection, both to others and to Nature, is the true wellspring of happiness. In almost every country, farmers’ markets, permaculture, community co-ops, local finance and business alliances, place-based education and nature reconnection testify to this great shift in values. In these ways, people are already sowing the seeds for a very different future, and demonstrating the way forward, towards a localised future. "

What do you think this means for the work that's already happening in YOUR part of Herefordshire?  How does this fit with ideas of procurement, gathering together local producers to increase demand and supply of local food? 

Could you head to this talk on Zoom, and come back and talk to the Food Alliance about it?

Helena Norberg-Hodge is the founder and director of the international non-profit organisation, Local Futures, a pioneer of the new economy movement, and the convenor of World Localisation Day.

Book tickets here

Our friends across the border have an interesting event if you're thinking of looking that way for food growing land...

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/using-community-finance-approaches-to-support-agroecological-farms-in-wales-tickets-595896100277

"Are you trying to secure land for an agroecological farm in Wales? Have you been considering whether, crowdfunding, grants, community shares or loans from ethical investors, but you aren’t sure what is right for you?

Come along to this event on 24th April, run with the Landworkers’ Allianceas part of the Resilient Green Spaces project, to hear from and ask questions to organisations with experience in the field, and those who have supported them to do so.

Herefordshire Food Alliance member Kristan gave a a regional update for the Marches at the Dynamic Procurement event in March, hosted by DPUK - looking at ways to scale up supply and demand of good sustainable food.

Dynamic Food Procurement aims to use technology and collective action to shorten supply chains and along with other counties, Herefordshire has been investigating how we can make that happen here. 

More about the idea of dynamic procurement here.  

The Marches regional study is now complete - the region has a range of things it would need to do in order for this to work, more details in the following documents

Results and Recommendations:  There is long term potential for our wider region working together, but not enough evidence that we could align well enough to make big changes quickly.

"Valuable shared learning among Marches authorities but challenges and trade-offs for procuring collectively."

Executive Summary: Executive Summary:Moitoring what we do and how we do it - across our overlapping values and activities will help us work towards anything more collective.

"Establishing robust, comparable baseline data across all five key policy goals remains vital for identifying actionable gaps in current procurement practices, designing optimum solutions, and
effectively tracking future progress."

Vending Sheds and Online Sales: Selling good food direct in Herefordshire

What’s working here, what could work and what do we need to make more direct sales happen?

Wednesday March 8th 6-8pm Online

Great Trewen Milk Shed and Wild Cow Dairy- How they set up their vending sheds here in Herefordshire, what's going well and challenges - please send your questions.

The government has announced new funding for small abattoirs  - and campaigners say it will be 'integral' to the future of local and sustainable farming.

"The availability of funding will help abattoirs to invest in new technology and improve productivity and animal health and welfare, allowing our agriculture sector to get its high-quality produce to market.”

Sustainable Food Trust who have been campaigning for this for years say  "funding will be vital to help the small abattoirs modernise and thrive. Their services are the cornerstone of sustainable, local meat supply chains.

Can innovative digital technology enable shorter, more transparent food supply chains  in Herefordshire?

A study is underway in this region to look at the opportunities for connecting local food producers with public bodies, what the challenges are and how they can be overcome.

Are you a producer?  What are your challenges in supplying public bodies locally?  Where do you think the opportunities are? Get in touch with the Food Alliance and we can put you in touch...

The positive impacts for local economy, public health and the environment are potentially huge, so our experiences will be very useful to get this right.

email the alliance at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

And sign the food charter to build a stronger alliance working together for these innovative solutions!

For more information on the potential of Dynamic Food Procurement see DPUK

"Basically what we're doing here is trying to stop writing out cheques to people.  Using the sun and the soil..."

It was such a pleasure to be taken around Billy's award winning Herefordshire farm. The Farm Carbon Toolkit's Soil Farmer of the Year at 25 years old - the whole thing was an inspiration!

Through changing some of their farming methods for methods that 'regenerate' the soil, the farm has more than halved its nitrogen fertiliser use, which has meant a drastic drop in outgoings and a big increase to the health of the soil.

Back in 2021, members of the Food Alliance asked this question of people with an interest in sustainability and food in Herefordshire. 

Here's what that room shared - what would you add?  What catches your eye?  what would you love to know more about? 

Sign the Herefordshire Food Charter, and stay in touch with what's going on!

Launched last week at a Herefordshire Green Network gathering, we're delighted to say that the Herefordshire Food Charter is now live.

Members of the Herefordshire Food Alliance have been co-ordinating, connecting, supporting and sharing across key areas of the food system in the County and this food charter is the next step in bringing activities together - and inspiring more.   Food has a huge economic, social and environmental impact and working together we can address this here in our county.

The charter means that individuals and organisations can pledge to Grow, Source, Choose, Cook, Eat, Share - and not Waste - good food.