Local food production for local consumption: why is it so hard to achieve? A case study from a small UK Transition Initiative

The Transition Mayfield (UK) group ran a Local Food project to raise awareness in the local community about the importance of developing local food production and consumption networks; strengthening the local economy and fostering collaboration and skill sharing. The discussion reveals number of factors that were not addressed: growers can lack the additional energy and skills needed to market their produce locally; the community already has very active social networks and the Transition group could not add anything to it; there is a complex relationship between shopkeepers that determines which shop sells what produce. The paper shows that, when trying to promote local food production for local consumption, attention has to be paid and an understanding gained of the motivation and constraints that operate in every part of the network.