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This simple scheme identifies food produced within 30 miles of village shops with stickers so that customers can easily identify produce with low food miles. It is a non-commercial scheme that has been developed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and the Oxfordshire Food Group with West Oxfordshire Network LEADER+ funding.

 

During the past year the number of shops using the scheme to promote the local food that they sell has risen from three to ten. The scheme was trialled at Finstock, Ascott, and Chadlington village shops but has grown over the past year to include the Charlbury Good Food Shop, Filkins Community Shop, The Village Shop at Stanton Harcourt, Leafield Community Shop, The Spar Shop at Brize Norton, Enstone Village Stores and the Old Forge Store at Great Rollright.

 

Will and Hazell Taylor who run Enstone Village Stores will be holding a Teddy-bears Picnic for local children on Saturday July 7 between 10am and 12 noon to celebrate the local food they are selling through the scheme. Children will be invited to bring their teddies and try some real local honey sandwiches on the green outside the shop.

 

Lynne Stubbles, the manager of the Good Food Shop at Charlbury said; “We like to stock good local food because it supports our community. It also helps to reduce our carbon footprint. Look for Local is a good way for customers to see where they are buying food that really is local.”

 

Many of the shops involved have benefited from a new initiative by Foxbury Farm at Brize Norton supplying small shops with quality local food. Colin and Di Dawes who run the award winning farm shop at Foxbury have been helping shopkeepers by acting as a ‘hub’ for the supply of local food. Di Dawes said “many village shops want to sell quality local food but find it difficult to order small quantities direct from producers. We are bridging the gap between producers and village shops. Local food is good news for everyone.” Foxbury Farm will be promoting home produced sausages and burgers at barbeques held outside participating village shops throughout July and August allowing the villagers to have a real taste of local food.

 

Village shops often have a good range of local food but it is not always easy for customers to identify it at a glance. Look for Local bridges that gap by assisting shop managers with stocking, labelling and promotion. James Pavitt, Look for Local project manager said “We have been getting positive feedback from participating shops that are selling more and more local food as a result of the Look for Local promotion. That is a great result for us.”