The Campaign to Protect Rural England [1] is encouraging people to spend their money locally when buying Christmas lunch this year. Charles Dickens’ three visions of Christmas are a useful reminder of how we have changed our food buying habits in recent years, and what future Christmases could look like if we don’t reconsider how and where food money is spent.

Christmas Lunch Past
Bought from a variety of local shops owned and run by knowledgeable traders, stocking distinctive produce that bolstered the local economy. Little packaging and virtually no waste.

Christmas Lunch 2009
The same big names in cloned towns and high streets and retail sheds spreading across the country. The model of ‘big and cheap is better’ retail is concentrating our food shopping into the usual few chains.  Job cutting efficiency combined with excess packaging and needless waste.

Christmas Future?
If we don’t support the shops and markets in our local food web [2] the future could belong to the retail giants.  In their relentless expansion they could squeeze out remaining local traders and any real choice of where to shop. We will forget what fresh, seasonal food tastes like.

In contrast, local food can offer incredibly good value and it doesn’t need to be the expensive option. Local food bought from farmers' markets, farm shops, pick-your-own farms and box schemes also tastes superb with wholesome, fresh seasonal foods aplenty. The variety on offer is the spice of the season.

Hector Robb, a volunteer with Cheshire CPRE who has been researching local food in the build-up to Christmas summarised the conversations he has been having with traders:

‘All of the shop keepers and farmers that I have been speaking to stress one thing over and over – this is make or break time of year for them. It is these knowledgeable, dedicated and friendly people who put food on our tables and we have a responsibility to them, and to protect real food. You get so much more for your money and help to protect livelihoods – if we don’t they simply wont be there next year, the choice wont be there and neither will local food.’

CPRE Vice-President Caroline Cranbrook and author of Food Webs and CPRE report The Real Choice [3], added:

'A return to localism is going to become extremely important in solving many of the problems that face us, particularly food security and climate change. By maintaining and establishing local food chains, reducing waste and generating our own energy we will help safeguard the future. By buying locally you really can make a difference.'

Choose to buy Christmas lunch this year from a local farmers' market, farm shop or use a box scheme and you can keep local traders in business, cut down packaging and food miles.  By spreading a little cheer you can connect with the season, the food, and the real spirit of Christmas – and even enjoy Christmas shopping.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

2. A local food web consists of the network of links between people who produce, process, supply, sell and buy food in an area.  These relationships of mutual dependence between people, businesses and places in the web benefit livelihoods, the quality of life and the quality and character of the towns and countryside. CPRE is currently mapping 21 local food webs. The project forms part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery from 2007-2012.  The project is led by CPRE with the support of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming. www.sustainweb.org

3. Copies of The Real Choice: How local foods can survive the supermarket onslaught by Caroline Cranbrook and CPRE are available to download from our website – http://www.cpre.org.uk/library/results