Morrisons is looking to recruit more than 200 new UK suppliers after a new report today reiterated Britain’s dependence on imports and called for more self-sufficiency in food.
The recruitment drive will invite prospective suppliers to pitch to buyers at a series of 12 regional events, beginning in Yorkshire on 14 March, in a roadshow dubbed ‘The Nation’s Local Foodmakers’.
The idea is to stock more food that is grown, made, picked or packaged within 30 to 60 miles of local Morrisons stores. The retailer said it will also use local expertise in organisations such as the Women’s Institute to help find new suppliers, as well as the buyer events.
Interested suppliers can apply through new website www.morrisons.com/local, and selected applicants will then be invited to an event in their region to showcase food to Morrisons buyers, shoppers, and Women’s Institute members.
Morrisons chairman Andy Higginson said: “Our customers tell us they want to see more food that is made just down the road from their own communities and that’s why we are looking for the next generation of British and local foodmakers to serve our 12 million customers.
“We want small UK food suppliers to become bigger ones – the Innocent Smoothies of tomorrow – and we also want to give our customers the option of more food that meets their local food tastes.”
The news comes alongside a new report commissioned by Morrisons and conducted by the University of Leeds found that only half (52 per cent) of food eaten in the UK comes from UK farmers and growers.
It said that in light of growing global uncertainties, such as climate change, it makes increasing sense to build a stronger local food sector in the UK, calling on British retailers, producers and shoppers to recognise the wider benefits of supporting UK food making and production.
Some findings in the report, authored by Professor Tim Benton, included that while global trade has a place and the UK can never be entirely self sufficient, buying more food locally will increase resilience to risks such as climate change, and reduce our reliance on food produced elsewhere that may be affected by ‘trade wars’.
It also found that British customers want to buy more local food because they believe it to be more trustworthy. New Morrisons research has shown that two thirds (67 per cent) of UK shoppers have a preference to buy British.
Supporting local suppliers will also benefit the local economy, maintain a thriving agricultural sector, create greater diversity of farms and benefit the countryside, the report found.
Crop diversity grown in the UK has reduced, with declines in acreage on crops including cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peas, parsnips, cabbage and salad. Orchard hectares have fallen from 113,000 hectares 50 years ago to 25,100 hectares, while French and runner beans acreage have fallen by 49 per cent, according to the research.
