Last month, Assistant Managing Director, Tom Richardson, spoke to hospitality businesses in Bristol, and it got him thinking about just how transformational the experiences we have through food can be...
Big global events can get us all down and it is easy to feel powerless. The catastrophic floods in Spain, US election and ongoing destruction caused by war, all happening in the last few weeks, has had me reflecting back on that sense of powerless and how it led me to focus my career in local food systems. That was a choice I made because I felt like food is one of the few areas in my life where taking positive action has a profound and joyous impact on my life, almost every day.
Last month I had the opportunity to speak to hospitality businesses in Bristol with advice on how to communicate about local, organic sourcing and other environmental commitments. The event was the launch of a new guide, produced by Bristol Good Food 2030, on how to address global sustainability challenges with local resources and knowledge.
Most of the discussion at the event was about the footprint of hospitality businesses - what they buy, the energy they use and the waste they produce - fundamentally how they could reduce their impact. That is of course vital but for me it feels reductive. Food is different. It's such a core part of culture. It's how we often choose to celebrate with friends and family. It's shrouded in tradition and ritual. It's personal and it's emotional (my fiancee can't be the only one who cries happy tears over a good meal!).
For that reason, I believe the big opportunity hospitality businesses have (and the same goes for us at the farm), is to create a positive impact in the world, not only by reducing our footprints, but also by increasing our 'brainprints'. To get people thinking differently about food through their experiences.
That feeling we have when we taste a locally-grown, organic tomato picked and popped straight in our mouths, or the deep nutty flavour of a perfectly cooked, heritage winter squash. Oof! They really can be powerful, transformative experiences - shifting how people think about food all together. You just can't compare those experiences to picking up something bland from the supermarket, wrapped in plastic, or ultra-proccesed beyond recognition.
Imagine a local area where everyone regularly had those experiences and fell back in love with locally grown, organic food. How might it feel different? Might more people come together, sharing food? Might the countryside feel more vibrant with abundant fields and plentiful wildlife? Might we see less mechanisation and more people benefiting their body and souls from spending time on the land? Might we all live healthier lives powered by nutritious whole foods?
In the world of food, the most positive action you can take for your health, community, wildlife and the climate is to buy organic, locally-grown fresh produce. And the best news is that it really does taste better than anything else too. What a joyful way to make a difference.
This is why I find pleasure in coming to work at the farm and why, at the farm, we want to start finding more opportunities to share the food we grow. We want to share our passion for food more often and with more people. And we want to work with hospitality businesses who share that passion and utilise their skills to bring more people on that wonderful journey of discovery.
by Tom Richardson, Assistant Managing Director
