If all our food came from within 20km of where we live, we could save £1.2 billion every year in environmental and congestion costs. And that’s just from food shopping, what about the other products we so often fill our baskets with?

Buying locally means our products don't have to travel as far. Food products in our aisles are often transported to us via air, sea or land and the journeys use enormous amounts of fossil fuels. As a consequence, this increases the carbon footprint of the produce and contributes to climate change.

But it’s not just transport that can be impacted by buying local produce. The fact that food can be transported and stored more easily often means less plastic packaging is used to keep food fresh and saleable. Less plastic packaging means less waste getting into our seas and harming our wildlife. 

Top tips!

1. Find out where people are selling local produce in your area, and see what's on offer. 
2. Substitute meat and dairy for plant-based foods where you can.
3. Whether you drink oat milk, soya, hazelnut or dairy - use your local milk delivery service! You'll be reusing glass bottles instead of single-use plastic ones and reducing the miles that it travels to reach you.
4. Check which fruit and vegetables are in season and buy them accordingly - it's more likely they'll be sourced at the right time of year. You could even sign up for a local veg box that gives you excess produce for that week.
5. When shopping in the supermarket, as most of us have to, check the country of origin on the label of what you are buying.
6. Reduce your food waste.
7. Grow your own produce.

Read our blog on how to reduce food waste