Spotlight on food maps and directories supporting their local food economy

One of our six key themes in the creation and maintenance of a Sustainable Food Place is supporting the local food economy. Alongside the signing-up of local food businesses, growing projects and spaces, food-access projects, and other related organistions to the local food charter (or list of agreed-upon aims), it's also immensly helpful to show local people where to find them and how they can get involved.

A few different ways in which citizens can get involved in their local food partnership:

Buy local food
Volunteer in community/access projects
Participate in access projects
Join a growing space/project
Pledge to act sustainably
Participate in cookery classes
Participate in a cultural event - like a book club or festival

All of these are wonderful ways to engage the local community, and for people to feel part of something bigger. The particular form of engagement that we would like to highlight here is buying local food to support the local economy, and to foster a sense of place. A really neat way that food partnerships have gone about encouraging this is by the presentation of food maps and directories, as well as local food trails, that are often based on the directories. Here are some examples from our network:

SCOTLAND

Aberdeen: Directory | Granite City Good Food | Aberdeen

Forth Valley: Sustainable Food Directory | Forth Valley Food Futures

Dundee: Food & Drink — Eat & Drink Dundee (eatanddrinkdundee.co.uk)

Glasgow: Glasgow Sustainable Food Directory – Good Food For All

Highland: Highland Good Food Map | Highland Good Food Partnership

WALES

Vale of Glamorgan: Vale Food Trail

ENGLAND

Blackburn with Darwen: Producers Directory - Blackburn with Darwen Food Alliance (bwdfoodalliance.org.uk)

Brighton: Directory map – search – Brighton and Hove Food Partnership (bhfood.org.uk)

Cambridge: The Directory — Cambridge Sustainable Food