“Food is such an important ingredient in how we make the world a better place. Because we all eat every day, so what we eat and how it is produced has a fundamental impact on how we continue to exist on this planet as not just humans, but as an ecosystem overall”. This is how Abi Mordin from Propagate introduces the film.
‘Rooted: Growing a Local Food Ecosystem’ tells the story of how a group of friendly farmers, food producers and community champions across the region have started to work together to create a healthier food system. Climate Kitchen aims to highlight the countless amazing solutions that are around that show the beginnings of a better way of doing things – and this film is just that.
Following the screening, we had a panel discussion with Abi, David Finlay from The Ethical Dairy and Lesley Atkins from Galloway Food Hub. “We are challenging the very roots of the conventional farming system”, says David. He talked in valuable detail about how his farm developed over the last 30 years to prioritise organic produce and regenerative farming techniques and benefiting from the Regenerative Farmers Network that has been set up through Propagate.
Despite the success of the Ethical Dairy, he questioned if enough was being done to support and enlarge the market for this kind of produce, and how we need to start valuing food more in our culture.
Through Galloway Food Hub, Lesley tries to join the dots and bring local food to local people. She said: “There’s a lot of food produced in the area, but a lot of it goes out the wider global market. So, we’re trying to connect good local produce to the community – and we’re the bit in the middle”.
The Galloway Food Hub are now delivering to Dumfries (pickup is from Flourish on Dumfries High Street, in the Midsteeple Quarter). Dumfries citizens can tap into this amazing developing source of high quality locally-produced food. Interested in getting a delivery of food from the hub? Check out https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/galloway-food-hub/shop . The Food Hub have grants to help make their food more affordable, so if the listed price is beyond your budget, contact them to discuss a more affordable option – https://gallowayfoodhub.org.uk/contact/
Finally, Galloway Food Hub are looking for drivers to help get their food around the region to customers – particularly folks able to drive from Dalry to Dumfries with deliveries on a Friday.
More screenings of Rooted: Growing a Local Food Ecosystem are coming up in Dumfries & Galloway. Check out https://propagate.org.uk/rooted for more info 