Local produce

Think provenance

Knowing where our food is from lets us buy quality local and seasonal produce. It’s better for our health and it cuts down on food miles and excess packaging.

Visit your local farm shop to find fresh local vegetables, fruit, honey, meat and speciality goods, and support some great farm businesses.

Support your local farmers’ market to buy direct from food producers. Buying locally also lessens the distance from field to fork. This reduces food miles and puts money back into the local economy, sustaining and creating jobs.

Look for the VisitScotland Taste Our Best logo when you eat out. It’s a mark of quality ingredients of Scottish provenance and fresh, seasonal produce. Taste Our Best restaurants and food outlets strive for sustainability and source food locally to keep food miles down.

Grow your own food

Tending your garden, allotment, orchard or community growing space can reward you with fresh and in season produce.

For help getting started, look to:

• Grow Your Own Scotland – a resource for all grow-your-own organisations in Scotland
• Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society – protects allotment sites, preserves gardening skills and promotes the value of allotments
• Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens – promotes community growing initiatives
• Community Supported Agriculture – this partnership aims to share the risks and rewards of farming between farmers and consumers

Food initiatives and funding

National and local initiatives that promote a closer connection between food and consumer include:

• Nourish Scotland – aims to make healthy, local, seasonal and organic food available to all in Scotland by creating a stronger food culture
• National Orchard Inventory project – raises awareness of traditional orchards and their biodiversity, cultural heritage and local food value
• Directory of Community Food Initiatives in Scotland – find a local food initiative near you