We help people to find and buy, good, safe, accountable food from local sources and in the process encourage more food production to help build healthier, inclusive, sustainable food communities.
About BigBarn
To demonstrate our long term commitment to the LOCAL food industry BigBarn is a Community Interest Company. To really understand the food industry and what we are are about, please read on.
What BigBarn is set up to do
BigBarn is committed to reversing the anti-social trend of the UK food industry. A trend towards the growing mass production of food and control of the market by big business and retailers, giving farmers an average of only 9p in every £1 spent on food in the supermarket. And where milk is cheaper than water in some shops!
BigBarn’s mission is to reverse this trend by reconnecting consumers with their local producers, direct, or through local retailers, and encourage local trade. Giving farmers a better deal and consumers fresher, cheaper, accountable food.
Today’s food industry is anti-social, resulting in:
Small farms going out of business
Small rural shops and post offices closing
Decreasing access to fresh food
Food being produced for shelf life and not flavour
Excess animal movement
Too many additives in food, hidden behind a label
‘Staple food’ costs actually rising as middle men & retailer margins increase
Increasing consumption of ready meals
Increased reliance on oil as specialist farms move away from sustainable mixed farming
BigBarn reverses this trend by promoting local food producers and independent retailers, as icons on post code specific maps accessed through the internet. It allows small, struggling, rural, producers to sell direct and get a better price. And consumers access to cheaper, fresh, seasonal, accountable, food. It also reduces food miles, increases food knowledge and education as well as increasing agricultural diversity and boosting local rural economies to make those communities more sustainable.
How will BigBarn benefit the community?
Provide a definitive database of producers who want to sell direct.
Promoting these producers by displaying them on post code specific maps.
Actively seeking other like-minded websites to have the BigBarn map, free, to open within their website to promote local producers.
Develop and promote an on-line market place to allow producer members of BigBarn e-commerce to sell local food on-line.
Continually look for ways to help producers team up with local shops to offer consumer a complete range of food & drink, cheaper, like for like, than the supermarket.
Accessing any grants to help achieve the BigBarn community’s objectives.
Providing producer members with a database of case studies to help them improve their businesses and better meet the needs of local consumers.
Help schools get food growing, cooking and trading at their core and produce environmentally engaged students who influence their families & friends to make better, healthier, food buying & cooking choices.
Continually improve the BigBarn website and related technology to make it user friendly and world class
BigBarn’s statement to producers and independent retailers selling local produce
To continue to promote the BigBarn map and website to consumers and like minded organisations
To offer a listing on the BigBarn website to all producers and independent retailers who:
Sell direct
Much of what they sell is produced by them or comes from the local area
To offer premium listings and discounts on products and service for those that want to pay for them
Provide case studies on best practice and how to build local food supply chains
BigBarn’s statement to Consumers
Offer access to the BigBarn website, free, a user friendly way of finding local producers of food
Offer access to recipes, blogs, forums and foody articles
Offer the BigBarn emailed post code specific newsletter free
If you would like to help BigBarn you can volunteer, more here, to spread the word in your area by calling 01480 890 970.
