Food Assembly Wins 'Best Retailer' Urban Food Award
Mayor Sadiq Khan showed support for “entrepreneurship flourishing in our great city.”
Hundreds of Londoners voted for the community initiative at Urban Food Awards for “connecting producers with customers, building that vital link in the food chain.”
The Food Assembly is an initiative that empowers people to fix the food chain. Customers order food online from local producers before picking the food up at a weekly collection. The Putney Food Assembly has over 550 members buying local, seasonal and environmentally friendly food.
Each Food Assembly is a local food community run by a local organiser. The first Food Assembly started in 2012 in Hackney Wick with 450 members and now there are 20 food communities in London with 12,000 members.
Putney Food Assembly is run by Floriane Malot who started their local food community because she wanted to challenge the supermarket models and bring in small scale, locally based producers and growers.
Food producers get over 80% for every product sold, compared to the 15%-25% that most supermarkets offer them. The food also comes from an average distance of 28 miles, making it less impactful on the environment.
“The majority of our products is produced or grown within 10 miles of Putney, making it the shortest supply chain, most transparent grocery shopping, and the only way to get fruits and vegetables picked within 24 hours of arriving in Putney.
With Putney Food Assembly also short-listed for Best Food Retailer Food and Drink Awards in the South West by Time and Leisure, we know we are doing the right thing ” says Floriane.
Sadiq Khan said: “I salute the breadth and expertise of the huge numbers of Londoners producing and growing the very best food and drink and it’s fantastic to see their entrepreneurship flourishing in our great city.”
A panel of judges included chefs Tom Hunt, Rowley Leigh and Oliver Rowe and food writer Olia Hercules.
People buy online and go to the Duke's Head for collection once a week. Customers will have to be members to be able to purchase but residents can pop in to get an idea of what it's all about before registering or buying if they want to.
Become a member: Get access to fresh, top-quality food, and connect with your neighbours, community and local food producers and farmers.
Join the Putney Assembly here.
September 22, 2016
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