Our local farmers work hard year round, and not only contribute to our nation's food security, but also help preserve and protect our local environment and green spaces, and play a crucial role in driving economic growth locally (part of my 6-point plan for Loughborough). We have some wonderful farmers in and around Shepshed and Hathern, and I know that local residents are keen to support them as much as possible.
That is why I recently supported Dr Luke Evans MP’s campaign, which called on supermarkets across the United Kingdom to introduce a “Buy British” section on their websites to highlight the very best of British produce.
As you have likely seen, shops already sell and label British produce, from fruit and vegetables to grains, dairy items, potatoes, fish and meat. Our campaign requested that this same information be displayed on supermarket websites and that a tab be created which collates British produce to ensure that online customers can easily identify and shop home-grown food.
I welcome that the Food and Farming Secretary has since backed our calls for industry-led action to signpost customers to “Buy British” and is also supporting other campaigns to endorse the taste and quality of home-grown meat and dairy products. Local farmers always tell me that the best way to support them is to buy British produce so this small change would certainly make a big difference to our local farmers.
Another way that I am doing my best to support the local economy is through my Small Business Saturday event in Shepshed. I will shortly work with local businesses and ask them to give offers or discounts to customers on 2nd December 2023 to encourage residents to shop local. This often leads to residents trying shops that they have not been to before and changing where they get some of their products to support local business. It is always a fantastic event and I very much enjoy visiting all of the shops myself.
If you would like to share your views with me on this or another topic, or if I can be of any assistance with a problem that you might have, please get in touch by post, telephone or email.
