Creating a New Localised Food Economy

Right now most of the food consumed in the Colne Valley comes from elsewhere; transported from around the country and across the world. As consumers we have little idea how it was produced, by whom, under what conditions, how it got to the local shops and who profits from it.

Much of our food has little seasonal linkage, with most foods being available for most of the year. Local food is the exact opposite; growers and producers are known, there is a confidence in the quality of the food, it is highly seasonal, buying it supports the local economy and above all it is nutritious and tastes good. Buying local also builds community and the networks within it – already the ColneUcopia partners are building social, economic and environmental capital into the local area through better and more productive land management, people shopping locally, increasingly vibrant villages (where people talk to each other when buying vegetables or bread), and making sure money is both earned and spent in the Colne Valley.

Over the last year or so four local organisations have been working together to develop the basis of a local food brand and trading system with the aim of increasing the amount of food that is grown, produced, sold and consumed in the valley. This group of social enterprises - Edibles (food grower), The Handmade Bakery, Green Valley Grocer (community owned shop) and Marsden & Slaithwaite Transition Towns (MASTT) now have a local food brand – ‘ColneUcopia’ (an abundance of local produce) and are slowly developing the links and systems that need to be in place to accelerate the Colne Valley towards increased food self sufficiency. They are being supported in this project by the National Lottery funded ‘Making Local Food Work’ initiative that exists to ensure that long term access to local food can be provided through the work of community food enterprises.