Following the nationwide fruit and vegetable shortages that left supermarket shelves empty in February, demand for locally grown produce has risen by 15%, new research shows.
Ginsters farmer, Jeremy Oatey claimed to experience the uplift, and now looks to get Brits more involved in the field-to-fork journey of the businesses range.
The pastry company recently had a planting day at Hay Farm, Cornwall with Oatey to sow onion and potato plants for consumers participating in its ‘Sow Your Own Slice’ service.
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Through the initiative, the vegetables are tracked via a ‘veg cam’ and once grown, are harvested and handmade into Cheese & Onion, Peppered Steak or Chicken & Mushroom slices before arriving to customers in personalised packs.
Earlier this year, research from Ginsters found that 47% of Brits admit to having poor or patchy knowledge of how the veg they eat is grown, while a fifth have never seen a vegetable grow at all.
However, over half of Brits confessed that they wish they knew more about where the food they eat comes from and how produce is grown and 85% feel that as a society we need to take a keener insterest in the ingredients used in the food we eat.
Last week, a new study by Ocado also found that over two thirds of Brits want to eat more seasonal produce this year, following the shortages, but many don’t know when produce is in season both in the UK and abroad.