Taste of local food could reap £57.2m for Highlands and Islands

Skye and Lochalsh residents could generate an additional £1.35m every year for their local economy by spending as little as £2.50 a week on locally produced food, according to a study commissioned by HIE Skye and Wester Ross.

"This is equivalent to each of us buying just a punnet of strawberries every week. Roll that out across the population of the Highland and Islands and it could be worth a staggering £57.2m per year to the Highland economy", said Robert Muir, HIE Skye and Wester Ross area director.

The research was commissioned to determine the extent to which supporting local businesses impacts on the local economy. It looked at the effect of buying a range of fish, fruit, vegetables, dairy and other food products sourced from local producers, compared to similar goods brought into the area.

The evaluation reveals that, for example, should every one of the 12,536 residents in Skye and Lochalsh spend £2.50 per week on primary and fresh produce purchased from local businesses, instead of national retailers, this would result in an additional £1.35m circulating in the local economy each year.

Roger Whiddon of Isle of Skye Fresh Produce Company and a director of Skye and Lochalsh Food Link - a community interest company, said: "Our initiative delivers the finest, freshest food, produced locally from one of the cleanest environments in Europe linking producers and consumers to the advantage of all concerned.

"Spending just £2.50 of your weekly food bill on fresh, local food instead of on a similar product that has travelled hundreds or even thousand of miles makes perfect sense. That the money you spend helps to fuel the local economy, is an additional benefit."

The HIE study, based on the New Economics Foundation's Plugging the Leaks model, looked at the journey of a £1 coin spent on local food, by tracking its expenditure three times over. This was compared with the effect of spending a pound in a national retail outlet, where a larger proportion of the pound leaves the local area.

The survey also showed that although the majority of those surveyed bought local products on occasion, such as smoked fish, they more generally made these types of purchases from national retailers in Skye and Lochalsh.

HIE Skye and Wester Ross business development manager, Eilidh Ross, said:
"At the time of the survey, there seemed to be a lack of opportunity to buy local food direct from producers. The opening of two new retail outlets, both supported by the local enterprise company, appears to have opened up the local market by capitalising on the convenience of one-stop shopping".

"We have been delighted with sales since we expanded our business by opening our new high street shop," said Pam Ross of Vanilla Skye. "Adding a great range of local food, to complement our delicious handmade chocolates and ice-creams, has increased our sales four-fold. Our busy village centre location has encouraged new producers to start up in business and our biggest problem now is keeping the shelves stocked."

New producers, Liza and Barry Hawthorne of Isle of Skye Baking Company recently received a business start up grant. Barry said: "We are really pleased with the help and advice provided by HIE Skye and Wester Ross, and being able to target two excellent local food outlets straight off was the icing on the cake, if you'll pardon the pun! Our lavender shortbread hearts and Black Cuillin ale oatcakes are selling particularly well."

Caroline Knox, of Alba Restaurant and Farm Shop, agreed that selling local food was good for business. "The issue of food miles is important to us and our customers. We feature all our producers, displaying their photographs and the number of miles that their produce travels to reach us. We are also looking into the possibility of using all our vegetable waste to make and supply compost as an additional product. This will make us a truly sustainable business."

Download The Skye and Lochalsh study - 'Plugging the Leaks'