London Food Link

London Food Link links organisations and individuals such as farmers, food writers, caterers and community food projects. London Food Link and its members run projects that help 
*increase the availability of sustainable food in London
* tackle the barriers preventing access to sustainable food for all Londoners
*celebrate and protect London's diverse food culture. 
=== Examples of what LFL does ===
* helping London’s hospitals, for example15% of ingredients at the Royal Brompton are now from local/organic sources
* pioneering work with black and ethnic community businesses, encouraging them to grasp the ‘green’ market potential
* helping develop the Mayor’s first food strategy (launched 22nd May 2006), having run the consultation and a number of projects for their food team.
=== Helping restaurants ===
London Food Link is helping restaurants to exploit the huge potential for this sector to better support local and sustainable food. However, only a fraction of restaurants offer sustainable options on their menus, despite overwhelming desire from consumers for more.
* 34% food in UK is eaten out of the home, (in US it’s 48%) It’s estimated by 2025 that 50% of food consumption will be out of the home. (Food and Drink Federation Eating out of Home Trends 2000)
* During 2002-3, the UK market for organic food & drink grew by over 10% and annual sales now exceed £1billion. (Organic Market Report, Soil Association, 2005).
* 65% of shoppers buy local whilst a further 9% would like to if it was available. This is compared with 61% purchasing last year. Of those purchasing 40% would like to buy more if it was more available. (Gerardine Padbury, Retail and Foodservice Opportunites for Local Food IGD, 2006)
=== Why buying more local food is important ===
*Transport - A recent Defra report estimates that the social and environmental costs of food transport are around £9 billion every year. (Paul Watkiss et al, The Validity of food miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development. London: Defra, 2005)
*Money earned by the community stays in the community. Every £10 spent with a local food business is worth £25 for the local area compared to £14 return when using non-local food businesses. (New Economics Foundation Plugging the Leaks 2002)
=== Funding ===
London Food Link is run by Sustain, and is funded by Defra’s Environmental Action Fund and the EU European Regional Development Fund.
=== External links ===
*London Food Link
References
*Sustain news item
category:London organisations