Pershore delicatessen Capers has been given an award for offering local food businesses a fair deal. The high-street shop was nominated by Lynda Whitcombe of Plantation Cottage Herbs for being “a truly local retailer”.
The Fair Deal Awards were introduced by the Attwood Group to give farmers and producers like Plantation Cottage Herbs the opportunity to tell us who gives them the fairest deal for their produce. Localise West Midlands is supporting the Fair Deal Awards as it believes that fair trade is an issue in the West Midlands as well as abroad, because power imbalances in trade exist between big corporations and small producers and between countries.
“It isn’t just about getting a fair price – it is about the personal relationship I have with them”, Lynda said. “It is good for buyers to know how a product is made and where it was made and the staff at Capers can give their customers this information”.
To celebrate receiving this award, Helen of Capers is organising a local food festival in her shop highlighting the value and quality of food produced in the local area. The festival will be launched on Saturday 27th September with a special tasting being hosted by Lynda Whitcombe herself. Over the following few weeks, various local products will be available to taste and enjoy. Helen said:
“These are all small producers who could do with a little help. If we don’t buy their products, they will disappear. As with many local amenities, the motto is “use it of lose it”. Retailers like Capers selling local food are essential for the survival of these producers.”
Capers in Pershore is a delicatessen selling a range of local foods including Lynda’s herb jellies; preserves and marmalades; cheeses; cider and apple juice; ice cream; milk, cream and yogurts and scotch eggs.
Plantation Cottage Herbs supplies herb and quince jellies, herb oils and vinegars made in the kitchen from herbs grown in their cottage garden. Based in the Worcestershire village of Bricklehampton, Lynda sells to small local shops and some local branches of Waitrose.
The town of Pershore is also currently working towards a ‘Fair Trade Town’ Status. In addition to highlighting Fair Trade issues abroad, the committee is interested in “fairness for local farmers and other food suppliers”
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Notes for editors
i) The Fair Deal Award being given to Capers is the last of four awards being presented as part of West Midlands Fair Deal Awards. Previous awards were presented to Waitrose by Dairy Farmer Andrew Hemming, the public buying from the farm shop by Fordhall Farm and Rugby Livestock market by cattle farmer Brian Swift. For more information, see www.localisewestmidlands.org.uk/fairdealawards
ii) The Attwood Group was set up in 2002 in memory of Thomas Attwood (1783-1856) who campaigned for the 1831 Reform Bill and was one of the city’s first two MPs. He was a democrat who opposed the growing mood of centralism at Westminster and promoted measures that would lead to full employment, peace and prosperity, regarding foreign trade as incidental to the nation’s wealth.
The annual Attwood Awards are presented to individuals or organisations who work for participative decentralised democracy, strengthening of regional economies or economic and monetary reform.
iii) Localise West Midlands is a small regionally based not-for-profit consultancy and think-tank promoting the greater use of localisation to obtain social, environmental and economic benefits. By localisation LWM means local trade, decision-making and money flow.
iv) For more information on Plantation Cottage Herbs and where to buy their products, visit http://www.plantation-cottage.com/