Our 'Buy Local' Awards
Cheshire CPRE believes local foods form an important part of the local economy, supporting jobs and rural services, keeping our villages and towns vibrant, and helping the farmers who look after the countryside we love.
Buying food produced close to home from nearby shops, restaurants and other businesses also cuts down on polluting and fuel-hungry food miles, and means we eat food at its freshest and most nutritious.
As part of our campaign to support local food and rural shops and services, we offer ‘Buy Local’ Awards to reward businesses that make a superb effort to offer top-quality local foods and an excellent contribution to the community.
Eligible businesses include farm shops, market traders, high street shops, vegetable box schemes, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants making significant efforts to provide genuinely local food, offering top quality produce, great local service, and benefiting the community and the environment.
CPRE’s definition of local food is food that’s produced and processed (including packaging) within 30 miles of the point of sale. Beware! Some food that claims to be ‘local’ is transported over great distances to be packaged and returned to the original area for sale!
If you would like to nominate a business for an award this year, download a form here or email localfoods@cprecheshire.org.uk for more information.
Two of our previous award winners
Why buy local food in season from independent local traders?
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To make sure the food we eat is fresh, nutritious and has a superb taste
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To be confident about the source of the food on our forks
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To support our farmers
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To reduce traffic congestion and ‘food miles’
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To cut down on the limited and expensive fuel used to transport food
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To safeguard the countryside we love by keeping it in production
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To strengthen local economies and protect jobs
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To maintain the distinctive character of high streets in our towns and villages
Although the big supermarket chains are slowly responding to pressure from campaigners including CPRE, they still fail to offer enough local produce, with only 1-2% of their turnover coming from local foods.
So, when local shops close in the face of competition, the outlet for local produce disappears with them.
Losing distinctive local shops turns our high streets into ‘clone zones’ populated only by the big names we see everywhere, and tears the heart out of our villages.
Support us in our campaign to promote local foods and help our countryside thrive!