AS part of our continuing campaign to Save Our Scotland Brand, The National has highlighted good practice by those stores, producers and individuals who go out of their way to promote products as Scottish.
At The National’s recent successful roadshow in Troon, we learned of one woman who is now in her eighties and has almost single-handedly brought about a transformation in the way local authorities in Ayrshire source their food.
The result has been a boom in local produce and a big boost to the idea of Scotland the Brand in the area, which last week celebrated the anniversary of the birth of local superstar Robert Burns.
Nan McFarlane served as an SNP member of South Ayrshire Council from 2007 to 2017. Before being elected she was the owner of a successful deli in Troon called The Beanstalk.
It was there that McFarlane first began to realise the importance of encouraging farmers and other producers of local food and drink.
“My speciality was local produce,” she told The National. “Part of my shop was self-service fruit and veg, where around 60 to 70 per cent was sourced locally.
“I also stocked other locally produced food with traceability, ranging from a number of local veg producers to a wide range of Scottish brands of cheese, pate, cold meat, bacon, milk, eggs and bakery goods and much more.
“As well as having a good customer base I also had contracts to supply local hotels, golf clubs, hotels and restaurants, who advertised their food as ‘locally sourced’.
“My husband and I have always grown our own fruit and veg, appreciated their benefits and although we are now in our eighties we still have a large vegetable plot we grow, and harvest a wide range of veg and tomatoes from each year.”
It was while on the council that McFarlane took up the cudgels for Ayrshire and Scotland the Brand.
She explained: “I sold the business to go into politics. Sadly the new owner sold it on to became part of a local doctors surgery. But I took the idea of sourcing local food into the council when I discovered it was part of a procurement contract that was bringing chickens from Indonesia, carrots from Belgium, potatoes from France, cheese from Ireland and so on.
“I provided evidence to show that in Ayrshire, local producers could provide exactly the same produce and much more.
‘‘I went on to demonstrate it would not only drastically reduce our carbon footprint, but would also be economically beneficial to both the council, the farming community and the wider community.
“My motion to source food locally for council schools, canteens and nursing homes was approved unanimously by the Council. Then the three councils: East, North and South Ayrshire became part of the move to source food locally, with East Ayrshire now taking the lead.
“There is a pan-Ayrshire local food structure in place, with changes made to the procurement contracts to include local food sources. This action also resulted in the main supplier to the three councils bringing about changes in their system to allow local food sourcing.
“The new SNP administration who took over the running of South Ayrshire Council after the 2017 elections included the local food source initiative into its manifesto, to ensure its implement and expansion over the next five years.”
McFarlane believes other councils should follow Ayrshire’s lead. “If all 32 local authorities were to take the same action, in time it could transform and rejuvenate farming in Scotland,” she said. “We already have the reputation of having the right climate for growing seasonal fruit and veg and if public demand were to increase, through demands for supermarkets to stock and highlight local produce, it could also transform Scotland.
“I applaud your campaign to save the Scotland brand and support it wholeheartedly. However there is a need for the campaign to be aimed at the Scottish Government to take a bigger role in branding our staple food like milk, cheese or veg.
“The English versions show a red tractor, so I see no reason why we can’t have a purple thistle, or similar, on all our produce to identify a ‘grown/produced in Scotland’ label.”
It has begun in Ayrshire, but this could be a movement that changes the whole of Scotland for the better.
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