A new episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, released today, Thursday (11 September), explores the importance of understanding where our food comes from.

“Produce Local Food” is the latest in the series “Do Something Bigger,” which has been running throughout this year alongside the charity’s flagship “25 Big Local Actions in 2025” campaign.

In this latest episode, host Isabelle Sparrow is joined by Kiloran O’Leary, Bridging the Gap Programme Officer at Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, to discuss how improving the food system could have positive impacts across the board.

Whilst the UK is famous for its agricultural landscape, much of the food we eat is imported, or is grown-out of-season using energy and water-intensive techniques. Supply chains are long with the farmers at the bottom squeezed so that smaller producers and nature-friendly growers can struggle to make ends meet. Making the choice to eat organic, ethically produced food can be expensive, and for those on lower incomes, near impossible.

As Isabelle, Kiloran and guests discuss in the episode; a system where people are more connected with local producers and are able to access nutritious, sustainably-grown food affordably would improve health and wellbeing and the local economy, as well as having benefits for climate and nature.

Isabelle says:

“I realised pretty early on that this was one of the biggest topics we had covered so far. Everyone needs to eat; and in the challenging and often unpredictable times we live in, ensuring everyone can access fresh, nutritious and affordable food is critical. Reducing the distance that food travels before it reaches our plates is one way to improve food security, and the quality and taste of locally produced food is often better as well.”

Kiloran says:

“In the UK we currently import nearly half the vegetables we eat, and 85% of the fruit. Whilst there are some products that don’t grow well in this country, we should absolutely be consuming more home-grown produce.”

The episode features guests Zosia Walczak, Deputy Director at London-based social enterprise Growing Communities, Beth Bell, co-founder of Carrick Greengrocers in County Antrim, and Pam Warhurst, founder of Incredible Edible. Whilst the title is “Produce Local Food,” discussions explore why buying and eating locally is important too, and how sourcing food direct from producers has significant positive impacts.

In the episode, Beth says:

“Our primary growers are called Chris' Market Garden and Jubilee Farm, and they're both within 5 or 6 miles of Carrickfergus. With Chris in particular: he will harvest in the morning and it's on our shelves two hours later. There's lots of important things about that, in terms of nutrition density and local food and soil health and all those things; but also, he does deliveries himself. So he’ll be walking up the street with two big crates of beautiful bunches of baby carrots, with mud still on them, and people are interested! [It gives people] this immediate, authentic connection. A way to talk to a farmer, who's just a member of the community.”

Zosia and her team at Growing Communities have been working with some primary schools in Hackney to bring organic, highly nutritious food to children there; supported by Sustain’s Bridging the Gap programme. She also speaks about the importance of people understanding where their food comes from, and of connecting people with the farmers and growers producing the food.

“We're trying to build a market for more organic fruit and veg in London, essentially. Bringing it into schools, hospitals, various public sector catering contexts just means people can get served that food without having to be able to individually afford it in their homes...

... for us, it's about creating a supply chain that links Londoners to local farmers and by local, we don't mean down the road. We mean within 70 to 100 miles of London; in Kent, Essex, Cambridgeshire and further afield as well. That's what local means in an urban context, if we're talking about feeding a lot of people.”

Incredible Edible is an initiative that encourages people to grow food in their communities on any available and unused land. Like the other guests on the episode, founder Pam Warhurst is passionate about using food as a way to engage people with issues around sustainability.

“Incredible Edible was invented 17 years ago. It was a simple concept about using food as a ‘Trojan Horse’ to living our lives in a climate crisis. We’re campaigning at the moment for a community Right To Grow; to make it easier for people to use public land for food production. Our vision is to inspire a new generation of urban farmers, landscape designers, architects and technicians who can help us to grow food in unusual places.

“We hope that by stimulating the interest and demand for local food growing, and the understanding of why it matters; that we will be more resilient, more equipped for living with our changed climate. There is a way of doing food differently that gets people more active, more connected, healthier... you get food right, you get a lot of things right.” she says.

Isabelle adds:

“This is our eighteenth episode in this series of the Carbon Copy Podcast, and almost every one has included something relating to food. How we grow food, how we package and transport it, how we consume it and manage surplus; it all has huge impacts for the climate and for nature as well. It’s something that connects us all, and is something we can all relate to. Whether you are inspired to grow more of your own food, or simply to source food from closer to home; hopefully this episode will help you to create positive change in your own life and local area.”

“Produce Local Food” is available now on all major podcast platforms. The episode can also be accessed via the Carbon Copy website, alongside useful links and resources on the 25 Big Local Actions in 2025 campaign page: https://carboncopy.eco/takeaction/produce-local-food.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

For more information, comments or to request interviews please contact Isabelle Sparrow, Head of Communications at Carbon Copy: 07766375192 / isabelle@carboncopy.eco

About Carbon Copy

We believe the fastest way to create change is to share it. We tap into a powerful truth: copying is human nature. When action is visible and easy to replicate, it spreads.

89 percent of people want climate action. So most of the people around you feel the same way as you! This isn’t about one big solution. It’s about people stepping in, inspired by what others have done and copying what works.

Carbon Copy offers a place to join in: a national collection of climate action stories from across the UK; place-by-place climate and nature plans; a popular podcast and blog about collective action; and capacity building for organisations across public, private and third sectors.

https://carboncopy.eco

About Sustain

Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, is a powerful alliance of over 100 organisations working together for a better system of food and farming.

Bridging the Gap is demonstrating ways to enable people on a low income to access climate and nature friendly fruit and veg, while ensuring the farmers and growers who produce the food get a fair price. The programme has developed nine pilot initiatives over two years to understand what mechanisms are most effective and advocate for national and local policy change.

https://www.sustainweb.org

About Growing Communities

Growing Communities is a community-led organisation based in Hackney, north-east London, which has been helping Londoners feel good about their food choices since 1996. We're transforming what we eat, how we eat and how it's farmed for the better.

https://growingcommunities.org

About Carrick Greengrocers

Carrick Greengrocers is a cooperative greengrocers that opened in July 2023 in Carrickfergus. We are owned by our 434 members who have helped us raise almost £35,000 in start-up finance to open our shop. As a community business, any profit from our trading activities will be reinvested in the business and in local initiatives that benefit the community.

We aim to trade in a way that supports a sustainable environment and economy. We are more than just a greengrocer – we are a welcoming hub in the town centre that provides opportunities for learning, community interaction and engagement.

We are committed to:

trading nutrient rich, locally sourced, and in-season food

selling food with maximum nutritional value, organic and non-organic

trading in a manner which supports a sustainable environment and economy

paying at least the Living Wage to our workers, and offering meaningful volunteering opportunities

providing learning and sharing opportunities to our members, customers, and workers

treating our members, customers, workers, and volunteers with dignity

promoting social and educational activities for our members, in accordance with our principles

We’re the first community owned greengrocer in NI and we're proud and delighted to have celebrated our second birthday in July 2025.

https://carrickgreengrocers.org

About Incredible Edible

Incredible Edible’s vision is to create kind, confident and connected communities through the power of food. We support a network of 200 grass-roots Incredible Edible groups around the country growing food with and for their local communities. Our model spins three plates to alter our local food systems for the better; Business, Learning and Community. We campaign for policy change that makes access to land for these projects easier, and to radically change the relationship between citizen and state. You can find out more about our work at incredibleedible.org.uk.

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