'Buy local' message from Shropshire community website

The Middle Marches Community Land Trust website has undergone some changes to try to bring more commerce to local traders during the coronavirus pandemic, many of whom have seen a decline in sales.

More than 17 of Shropshire's high-quality producers of food and drink are now just a click away as they website aims to support small businesses during these uncertain times.

The website offers options for every course, from a gin-based cocktail, distilled in Ludlow, to a main course of Shropshire beef, rounded off with a helping of Jersey ice cream and fresh fruit.

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One of the producers, Jan Morgan-Birtles, whose small herd of prize-winning Jersey cows provide the milk for the renowned ‘Nanny Janny’s' ice cream from her family farm at the top of the Hope Valley.

"Before the lockdown, we had a busy schedule of selling direct at local food markets. But, with most of those trading opportunities lost for now, being able to promote what we make here, offering a delivery service instead, is a real lifeline."

She added: "Hopefully, this crisis will create new opportunities for people to find all the small-scale producers, taste the delicious products available and then, carry on supporting the local food economy once this is all over."

The ‘Buy Local’ page is an initiative of the Middle Marches Community Land Trust. Set up this time last year, Middle Marches works with farmers, landowners and environmentalists on regenerative farming, carbon capture in soils, rewilding projects and sustainable woodland management.

Visit middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk for more information.