Herefordshire hungry for shorter food chains

Herefordshire Council is joining one of the first four regions in the UK to kick-start an innovative food procurement partnership, launched by Herefordshire Food Alliance (HFA).

The role of a food hub is to connect local food producers with public bodies – such as local authorities, schools and hospitals – making shorter food chains to benefit the environment, local economy, food security and public health. In essence, it means fresh, seasonal food can get to local kitchens – and local people – faster.

Pete Norton, joint co-ordinator of the HFA says: 

“Working with local authorities in the Marches area – including Herefordshire, Powys, Monmouthshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin – this initial funding will allow us to scope out the potential for a regional procurement hub. The idea is to bring together producers and public bodies and help develop new markets for local businesses and bring local produce directly into public kitchens.”

The Marches Regional Food Hub is one of four regions in the UK to have been awarded seed corn funding from the Dixon Foundation, a UK charity supporting positive regenerative solutions. The funding is supported by Dynamic Purchasing UK Food (DPUK), the national body supporting dynamic food procurement. DPUK aims to establish dynamic food procurement in every region of the UK. This is a proven model that uses smart technology to open the market for SME producers to supply into large public institutions.

Matt Pearce, our director of public health, says:

“The successful application to the Dixon Foundation, with support from DPUK, presents a very exciting opportunity for Herefordshire. It puts us at the forefront of cross-border, sustainable food development and part of a UK initiative to move towards short supply chains. This is a win-win for the local rural economy and our environment as we work with our farmers and food producers to increase local food production and reduce food miles.”