What is Real Food?

The town of Brecon, which lends its name to the Brecon Beacons National Park in Mid Wales is looking to find out exactly what it needs to do to achieve ‘Real Food Town’ status.

Like the word ‘local’, what is ‘real’ is a contested term, but Taste Real Food UK campaign, launched last year at Ludlow Food Festival reckons it to be food that tastes great; is ethically and sustainably produced; contributes to our health and well-being; celebrates its local roots; brings people together; looks after the environment; supports our food producers; respects our food heritage; encourages biodiversity and seasonality; keeps food education and skills alive. Taste Real Food UK is a new,  not-for-profit association which covers the whole of the UK and which is owned and run by its members – who care about and wish to enjoy, explore and promote the Taste of Real Food.

A public meeting in Brecon on the 4^th February will get local people to consider questions such as ‘Has Brecon has got what it takes to achieve Real Food Town status? Exactly what is a Real Food Town? How would we get there? Why would we bother?’ Welsh cheese and beer from a Brecon-based real ale brewery will be available to oil the debate.

The hard truth will out, and it may mean that the town will have to face the fact that it has a way to go before it can claim the title of top food town. After seeing an article in the local paper recently, one person emailed me to say that it was a nice idea, but there was no way Brecon is a food town. We have a range of wonderful local food producers, an annual food festival, monthly farmers market, but quite frankly so do a lot of places. We haven’t got a delicatessen, we have one baker, one fishmonger and one greengrocer both tucked away, although we do have a range of excellent butchers that source from local farms. The email went on to say that everyday shoppers, the people that live in Brecon, rely heavily on the two supermarkets, neither of which offer much choice. There’s little in the way of a decent evening meal in the town centre from restaurants that have made local produce a feature of the menu. 

This isn’t a reason to be disheartened, or to pack up and go home. If Brecon was a Real Food Town, there would be no need for debate, no need for National Park Authority to support the event. What is needed is for a meaningful discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the town, to recognise the gaps and for a group of people to come forward and take responsibility to improve the situation. The driver for this is that there is an opportunity to use local food and drink provision to increase the sustainability of tourism in the area. It doesn’t matter what kind of tourist you are or the purpose for your visit; everyone needs to eat and drink. And the research shows that consumer demand for local and regional, responsibly produced food and drink is strong. This is probably a result of growing body of knowledge and concern about unsustainable centralised food systems that benefit the consumer, but not necessarily the citizen or the environment and reduce food and its purchase to matters of convenience and quantity over quality and choice. The availability of high quality, local food has become increasingly important in visitor decision making in the last ten years, as people seek authenticity in what they eat that connects them and what's on their plate with the people and places they are visiting. Local food products and dishes are an expression of local culture, support the local economy and link people with the places they’re visiting. A high quality and distinctive local food offering has become a top priority for visitors seeking a countryside holiday. This is especially important for rural market town destinations like Brecon with its strong agricultural links

Local businesses, food producers, B&B owners, hospitality providers, pubs, cafes, restaurants – and anyone passionate about real and local food and drink are invited to join the debate on 4^th Feb with a panel of experts including Taste Real Food UK to on hand to give their views. Local Groups are the foundation and heart of Taste Real Food. It’s hoped that at the end of the evening, sufficient numbers of people will be enthused to form a local Brecon-based Taste Real Food Group. For this to work, everyone has to feel positive about taking responsibility and finding out how everyone can each play their part. A key aim of the group will be to promote high quality, distinctive, local and sustainable food and drink in Brecon that will improve the visitor experience and benefit the local area. It is hoped that by achieving this and other actions, Brecon will stand a chance of becoming the first town in the UK with Real Food Town status. This would do wonders for the town’s reputation as a destination where local produce and dishes are widely available in eateries, watering holes and shops.

Brecon Beacons National Park Authority as part of their remit to conserve and protect the landscape, promote responsible enjoyment, and foster economic and social well-being for communities in the National Park are supporting the setting up of the local Brecon Taste Real Food group by funding membership of the organisation for the first ten businesses that want to get this going.