Skip to content

In My Back Yard: new East Devon food network expands

  • by JW

Aiming to build a more resilient, nourishing and community-centred food system for the local area.

.

In the spring of last year, a very useful local food distributor came together:

“A friendly network of independent, small-scale food producers, wholefood suppliers and residents working together to build a more resilient, nourishing and community-centred food system for the local area.”

In My Back Yard: new East Devon food network – Vision Group for Sidmouth

.

They are becoming well-established by now – and they’ve got quite a list of suppliers of local produce:

IMBY is being set up for the long-term. Our experiences with this emergency pilot phase will really help us develop our longer term plans.

We are also linking up via the Open Food Network to other hubs in the south west so that together we can build a decentralised and resilient local food network for all.

In My Back Yard – East Devon Local Food Producers Co-operative

.

And they’re very much in the news – with this piece reporting on the service expanding:

An ‘ethical supermarket’ that launched in Branscombe last year amid the pandemic has branched out to offer home delivery across East Devon.

After two years of planning, In My Back Yard (IMBY) began in April 2020 during the first coronavirus lockdown, sourcing as many products as possible within a 30-mile radius of its East Devon hub.

Now the cooperative business, which is run largely by volunteers, is offering home delivery to customers living within a 15-mile radius of the ‘ethical supermarket’…

East Devon ‘ethical supermarket’ celebrates launch of home delivery service

.

With more from Devon Live:

Created by a group of independent and small-scale farmers, producers and community members, In My Back Yard aims to build a more resilient, nourishing and community-centred food system for the local area.

Customers order direct from the producers and growers involved via a convenient online platform, with a phone buddy system available for those who don’t have access to the internet. Goods are then delivered to one of the specified collection points in Branscombe, Lyme Regis, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Sidmouth, or direct to homes and businesses…

Non-producer member Emma Brice, who heads up In My Back Yard’s media, marketing and public relations, said: “The cooperative is very much looking toward a changed food future, working with producers and communities to support the local economy, trade and environment. By sourcing locally and encouraging new entrants into growing and farming opportunities, In My Back Yard hopes to help build adaptable and flexible resilience into our local food industry.

“In My Back Yard is a local cooperative created by a group of farmers, producers and community members, all coming together under one name and promotional effort, to help small, ecologically-minded family businesses thrive. Often these farms are too small to sell to butchers’ shops, but do supply customers, grocery shops and restaurants (when they’re in business) directly. When everything went topsy-turvy last spring they had a lot more customers come to their farm gates to guarantee food supplies.”

Devon farmers’ cooperative rolls out home delivery service to better serve community during latest lockdown – Devon Live