by Stephen Harwood, Chairman, Rural Affairs Group

East Hampshire and Havant District Group of CPRE, together with Hampshire Fare and supported by East Hampshire District Council and Hartridges Soft Drinks, promoted a Local Food Competition during Hampshire Food Festival week last July, to encourage pubs and restaurants in East Hampshire to serve food from local sources.

Entry to the competition was open to local public houses, hotels and restaurants. Entrants were invited to send in menus, each dish had to include ingredients sourced mainly from local producers.

The 12 pubs that entered were all visited by the judges, who unanimously agreed that the Selborne Arms, Selborne, Hampshire, was the deserving winner of the competition. The Selborne Arms won the competition for the excellence of their menu, and the variety of local produce used. The judges felt that they entered wholeheartedly into the spirit of the competition and clearly enjoyed celebrating Hampshire Food Festival week. They were presented with a colourful framed certificate and a silver plate. Two other pubs were highly commended, namely The Bat and Ball at Clanfield and the Good Intent in Petersfield.

Due to the popularity of the competition, it will be run again this year, but volunteers are required to help. It is a fun event so if you might like to become involved then do contact CPRE Hampshire.

Turning to the issue of the availability of local food, CPRE's vision is that by 2007, wherever you live, you should be able to walk into any shop, supermarket or restaurant and find affordable local food that:

• Comes from the nearby countryside
  
  
• Is produced in a way that benefits the environment – or at the very least does not harm it

In Hampshire, the CPRE Rural Affairs Group has agreed to activate a campaign for 2004 to encourage supermarkets to promote and sell more local food. Our National Branch of CPRE undertook a detailed study on supermarkets and local foods in 2002 called 'Down Your Way' and the report can be found on their website at www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/farming-and-local-foods.

Local foods can strengthen local economies by keeping money locally for longer. Many rural areas are suffering from decline after the battering that agriculture has taken from a succession of disasters. Local foods can also help to safeguard the rural environment, precious landscapes and the amazing countryside character and diversity of our countryside, by promoting traditional smaller scale farming methods. And local foods can help reduce 'food miles' – the many miles of road travel food must undertake between farm gate and our homes. With just one abattoir in Hampshire, it means that many animals have to travel great distance out of Hampshire to be slaughtered and back again. For more details see local abattoirs.

If you might be interested in participating and would like to know more about this new campaign then do contact CPRE Hampshire.

May 2004