There are a number of small food retailers, suppliers and growers in the B&NES area who are working towards:
- Providing affordable, nutritious food security for the local population.
- Promoting high levels of food standards and animal welfare.
- Bringing the food economy into the hands of the local community.
- Providing employment for the local population.
- Ensuring good stewardship of land to address the environmental and ecological crisis.
Contact us if you would like to liaise with us around these issues or if you know of other relevant initiatives we could add to this page.
Local cooperative food & growing
Southside Food Co-op
Part of Time Bank Plus, it offers people in the South & West of Bath an opportunity to buy fresh locally grown produce at affordable prices.
Middle Ground Growers
As well as delivering veg boxes around town they also sell a wide range of fruit and veg from their market stall at the Dry Arches Ground in Batheaston every Wednesday afternoon from 3 until 6 pm.
The Community Farm (Chew Magna)
A social enterprise based in Chew Magna, owned and governed by 500 member stakeholders. They grow and sell locally-sourced, 100% organic, seasonal produce with outlets in Bath, Chew Magna and Southmead Hospital plus a box delivery service covering Bath, Bristol, The Chew Valley, Frome and Weston-Super-Mare. Profits fund learning activities for local children, adults and vulnerable people and they offer regular volunteering opportunities.
Undercliff Urban Farm
A small-scale farming operation set over 2 sites on the cusp of Bath. The original, Undercliff, is located between the Canal and the Railway, and the more recent site is on the lower slopes of Solsbury Hill. They practice regenerative agriculture, working to build soil rather than deplete it whilst producing food.
The Sustainable Food Partnership
The mission of the Sustainable Food Partnership is to improve lives, influence local food policy and optimise sustainable food provision in Bath and north east Somerset.
CropDrop
A project coordinating the redistribution of allotment produce to community organisations in Bath & North East Somerset to help strengthen communities and minimise food miles.
Grow Batheaston
They aim to strengthen community, create food security and encourage biodiversity. They teach and support local people to grow their own food and work alongside local businesses, trades people and practitioners to strengthen local networks and boost the local economy.
National organisations
The Ecological Land Cooperative
They develop affordable, low impact, smallholdings for ecological agriculture. The high costs of land and rural housing make it nearly impossible for new entrants to farming to establish a farm business. By providing affordable and secure smallholdings, they are helping to address this crisis.
The National Food Service
A new public service, built by and for the communities that it serves. Aims to eliminate food insecurity and tackle the interconnected issues of social isolation and food waste.
In the media
How coronavirus has led to a UK boom in community food growing
Organic food should not be preserve of rich say volunteers helping provide food banks with fresh produce.
The city switching to local produce
With hundreds of food producers facing ruin in Amsterdam due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a new movement has sprung up selling directly to consumers while also supporting those most in need.