In response the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on many small farms across the UK, a new online resource has been launched to connect growers, producers and fishers with their local communities. Created to provide a platform for these fast adapting food businesses, Farms to Feed Us gives shoppers the opportunity to source fresh produce grown close-by on a small and sustainable scale, while supporting those on the front-line working harder than ever to keep Britain fed.
Founded by regenerative agriculture organiser, Cathy St Germans, Farms to Feed Us is setting out to strengthen the UK’s food system and create a sustainable supply chain for the future. Reacting to widespread concern over food shortages and an unprecedented moment of crisis for small food producers, many of whom lost all of their trade after the restaurant industry shut down overnight, this volunteer-run resource already lists over 200 businesses from the country’s nimble and resilient food and farming network.
Lo-fi, easy to use and down-to-earth in style, the Farms to Feed Us database is growing every day and can be shared, used and printed off for neighbours or relatives who aren’t regularly online. Delivering meat boxes, veg boxes, freshly caught fish and much more to people’s doors, or local hubs where they can be collected safely, this ground-breaking initiative is giving consumers the power to protect the nation’s food security and reach out to small-scale farmers before it’s too late.
Cathy St Germans, regenerative agriculture organiser and founder of Farms to Feed Us, commented
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“Farms to Feed Us was born in response to initiatives I was seeing locally and nationally from farmers having to turn their supply chains around overnight. I have put together a small team of volunteers to create a database of new delivery and mail order initiatives, which have come about because of the crisis. The database is lo-fi and easily accessible by the elderly and those who do not use social media, so we can all play our part in strengthening the food chain which is flowing from our fields and farms, and support our farmers and fishers through this terrible time. We are hoping this supply chain can have some lasting effect once the COVID-19 crisis is over and we will have a new market who we hope will want to maintain their new relationships with small scale farmers, fishers and other independent food suppliers.”