(by Emma Whitham, Highland Good Food Partnership Project Manager)
Martin Sherring, from Transition Black Isle, and I started talking over a year ago about various different solutions to increase the amount of locally produced ,sustainable food for local people to buy. From our experience of managing farmers’ markets we know people want to eat local food, but there are obstacles in place; demand exceeds supply, and we need to find a more convenient way for people to access that local food, without putting more demands on the already overworked producers.
We agreed very early on that there was no single solution. There are many failings within the current food system and it can be linked to almost every aspect of life, from biodiversity to mental health, from climate change to education. So we came to the agreement to bring a group of people together who were interested in sustainable food systems. We can then all work out how we could support a movement in the Highlands, which will get more good food on local dinner plates; a system that would be better for the planet, better for people and better for producers.
It was decided a good starting point would be a 2-day conference to get people together to develop a new vision for the Highland’s food system, and identify key actions to take forward. Our main purpose being to inspire and facilitate real action.
Due to Covid-19, this plan instead evolved into an online multi-day conference idea. It is actually really exciting how many opportunities have now opened because of this change. We can work with a wider range of people remotely. Producers don’t need to leave their farms or shops, and we can cut down on the costs, both financially and ecologically, by not needing to travel to meet.
The crisis of this pandemic has highlighted to everyone in this country the importance of our local producers and suppliers, and the massive benefits of short supply chains. This coupled with the rise in ‘grow your own’ has us super excited, as we can see the momentum picking up, and an appetite for change occurring. To build on the change of the conference being online, we decided to develop in into an open on-going conversation, with the conference being at the heart of it. Having this conversation element in the build-up to the conference will allow us as a community to discuss the more general topics related to food, so we have more time during the conference to discuss and develop actions for implementation. This conversation is for everyone who is interested in joining the movement to create a better food system here in the Highlands.
You can join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.