A Christmas Carol for Morpeth?

A nice press release (which I've edited down a bit) from my employers, CPRE:

CPRE is encouraging people to spend their money locally when buying Christmas lunch this year. Charles Dickens’ three visions of Christmas are a useful reminder of how we have changed our food buying habits in recent years, and what future Christmases could look like if we don’t reconsider how and where food money is spent.

Christmas Lunch Past
Bought from a variety of local shops owned and run by knowledgeable traders, stocking distinctive produce that bolstered the local economy. Little packaging and virtually no waste.

Christmas Lunch 2009
The same big names in cloned towns and high streets and retail sheds spreading across the country. The model of ‘big and cheap is better’ retail is concentrating our food shopping into the usual few chains. Job cutting efficiency combined with excess packaging and needless waste.
[though Morpeth is luckier than most in still having a variety of local shops not to mention an award-winning Wednesday Market and an excellent farmers’ market]

Christmas Future?
If we don’t support the shops and markets the future could belong to the retail giants. In their relentless expansion they could squeeze out remaining local traders and any real choice of where to shop. We will forget what fresh, seasonal food tastes like.

In contrast, local food can offer incredibly good value and it doesn’t need to be the expensive option. Local food bought from farmers' markets, farm shops, pick-your-own farms and box schemes also tastes superb with wholesome, fresh seasonal foods aplenty. The variety on offer is the spice of the season.

Happy Birthday Morpeth Farmers’ Market!

Morpeth Farmers’ Market celebrates its 10th Anniversary on Saturday 7th November.

There’ll be a real party atmosphere on the market with competitions, buskers and a birthday cake provide by Country Markets (aka the WI). And there’ll be a chef doing demos throughout the morning using what ingredients he can cadge from the market stalls – a bit like a live version of ‘Ready Steady Cook’.

And the Barnacre alpacas will be back.

It’s hard to imagine it’s been going so long. I’d been a councillor for just six months when Castle Morpeth BC first started the Farmers’ Market in November ’99. And apart from a five month gap during the foot & mouth crisis, missing one market on the day after the 2008 flood and the occasional January market date that was too near New Year - it hasn’t missed very many months.

Initially it was held in the Town Hall, then after refurbishment of the Morpeth Market Place it was split between the Town Hall and the Market Place. Then in October last year, it was switched from a Sunday to a Saturday and is now located entirely on the Market Place. And it is still thriving when other farmers’ markets are in a bit of a decline.

I think a lot of people don’t realise just how lucky Morpeth is in still having locally owned shops. These have always sold local produce, but I think the farmers’ market has raised an awareness and appreciation of local food with a wider public.

In fact, a number of businesses – including Doddington Dairy Ice Cream and Northumberland Cheese Co – which started selling through farmers’ markets are now supplying the local shops, and in some instances supermarkets – so the wheel has come full circle in a sense.

And several producers from the farmers’ market – like Jimmy Bell and Janet Lawlor – are now selling at the Wednesday Charter Market too – which I think is part of the reason why that is flourishing so much, against national trends.

Local food is less expensive

Food costs are going up mainly due to increasing oil and fuel prices. So it stands to reason that local food that hasn't travelled so far (lower foodmiles) is not going up in price as much as supermarket food, let alone imported or airfreighted food.

And again, organic producers who don't use petrochemical-derived fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides will have lower costs than non-organic producers - so expect the price difference between organic produce and non-organic produce to reduce.

Look to farmers' markets, farm shops and local shops with local suppliers for relatively low prices.

Sainsbury's Exhibition

As of Saturday afternoon, Sainsbury's exhibition on their proposal to build a new store south of Stobhill had pulled in quite a lot of visitors. The organisers said that they reckoned some 60-70% of people were in favour - though from wyhat I saw the (?) 30-40% people opposing the scheme were far more vehement in their views.

I should point out that the proposal is against Council planning policy as I understand it - being on a greenfield site and outside the town boundary. The scheme also includes proposals for housing and an extension of the Coopies Lane industrial estate on the south side of the A189 - again both against Council planning policy (as I understand it)

I spoke the exhibition organisers about their local food sourcing commitments. I gather they have distribution depots in East Kilbride and Haydock supplying the North East - but the wagons take local produce back to these depots rather than running empty (so that's OK). They were publicisng 'Moorland' branded lamb rather than Northumberland lamb too - which was interesting. I've been promised details of their local supply network - which I'll post here when I get it.

They are still holding to their intention to get the planning application submitted in March - which will make it a topic for the Unitary Transitional Authority election on May 1st. Interesting - but maybe a distraction from other issues?

Good Food Shop

Sad to see the 'Good Food Shop' on Back Riggs closing today. It was perhaps the most successful business run from that shop - and was building an enthusiastic customer base.

There is a growing demand for locally sourced produce in Morpeth building on our monthly farmers' market - and though our butchers, greengrocers, delis and local farm shops do all stock and promote local produce - Phil's enthusiasm for food and knowledge of local producers was something special.

He struggled a little bit when having to choose between imported organic produce and local non-organic produce - but generally went for local produce.

I understand that Phil doesn't want to make a big fuss about the Trading Standards and Food Standards Agency inspections that made life so difficult nor about the reluctance of the landlord to fund the improvements to the building that the inspectors required - so I won't go on about them.

Though I will comment in a general sort of way that it seems to me that absentee landlords and sky-high shop rents which is inhibiting the success of local businesses far more than car parking charges.