At Good Food Oxfordshire, it’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since we launched our short local supply chain project, OxFarmToFork. In July 2023, we embarked on what has truly been a whirlwind journey. The seed of the idea for OxFarmToFork was planted and nourished by a simple belief: connect Oxfordshire’s incredible local growers with Oxford institutions. Our first step? A humble WhatsApp group, evolving into a collaborative and thriving local food hub.
From WhatsApp to Marketplace: Building a Local Food Powerhouse
What started as a handful of growers and chefs sharing ‘gluts’ (perfectly good farm surpluses) quickly became something bigger than we imagined. Word spread like wildfire. More chefs wanted in, the WhatsApp group led to a bespoke ordering spreadsheet. By the end of 2023, we proudly had ten producers and ten colleges on board!
Feedback from the highly talented Oxford college chefs was overwhelmingly positive, and it spurred us on. Growers, initially cautious after the challenges many faced with the collapse of FoodDrop, began to see the true potential of a reliable local market. Our commitment to them became more tangible, too.
In fact, one farmer recently shared, ‘We definitely wouldn’t be as far without [OxFarmToFork]’. This sentiment truly captures our core mission. As a local food hub of our small size, operating with minimal financial support within the notoriously challenging institutional catering market, we have always faced our share of hurdles. Yet, our unwavering principle has been to put our farmers first.
This includes redistributing buyer fees directly back to them as reinvestments in their infrastructure – including five new polytunnels (see Blacklands Organic’s OxFarmToFork-funded polytunnel below), vital tools, and even a shipping container! This wasn’t just about equipment; it was about building trust, cementing relationships, and giving our dedicated farmers the confidence to commit to us further, planning their harvests with OxFarmToFork in mind.
The Power of Partnership: Overcoming Challenges, Driving Growth
Logistics are often the tricky and costly hurdle in food systems. That’s why partnering with Velocity was a game-changer. Their established e-vans and e-courier bikes weren’t just efficient; they perfectly aligned with our sustainable ethos. They’ve expanded their operations right alongside our growth, tackling the exciting yet at times exhausting challenge of scaling up. We’ve been there for each other every mile – a true testament to collaboration.
Then came another defining moment of bold initiative. Our spreadsheet, groaning under the weight of data (thanks to even more producers and buyers joining!), clearly signaled it was time for a digital leap. In mid-2024, we commissioned Tream, a team of incredibly committed young tech entrepreneurs. In just six months, these brilliant minds built the entire OxFarmToFork online marketplace from scratch! It's entirely bespoke for our needs and designed with our producers and buyers in mind.
Some might say we moved swiftly, perhaps even launching ‘too soon’, but that’s been our guiding principle – to build and learn as we go. With 20 producers and 19 colleges onboard by early 2025, we felt overjoyed. This new platform has enabled a significant step-change, transforming how local food gets to local plates, with invaluable input from all our partners. As Katie Palmer from Food Sense Wales recently highlighted at Groundswell, the UK’s largest regenerative farming festival, ‘relationships in the chain are central’ – and our platform strengthens these vital connections.
Redefining Value: Building a Resilient Local Food System
We know we’re up against a massive system: the ‘just-in-time’ model where chefs can order anything, from anywhere, at prices that often don’t reflect the true environmental or social cost. This system, what Henry Dimbleby aptly called a ‘mining practice’, creates significant negative externalities.
Good Food Oxfordshire is entirely committed to building robust, alternative routes to market for our farmers through OxFarmToFork – this is our core mission. Since our pilot launch, we have strategically connected local producers who prioritise ethical and sustainable practices with Oxfordshire’s institutions, recognising the immense potential for local produce in these settings. Our greatest achievement has been fostering and building a collaborative community of passionate farmers and buyers – who are working together to make Oxfordshire a more sustainable food place. As National Trust’s Hilary McGrady emphasised at Groundswell, ‘food security equals climate and nature security’. We believe short supply chains, built on direct relationships, are key to this.
Our recent visit to Groundswell reinforced our conviction. While the broader conversations there delve into the future of farming, for us, it was a powerful reminder that our local, collaborative approach is a vital part of a much larger, positive shift towards a more resilient food system. It reinforced that despite the setbacks and challenges of building something new, OxFarmToFork is moving in the right direction – a direction that helps us to value our food, our environment, our local economy, and our health a little bit more every single day.
‘With OxFarmToFork, we’re building a system where every purchase directly supports local livelihoods and a healthier planet,’ says Janie Bickersteth, OxFarmToFork’s Project Lead, whose vision for OxFarmToFork, passion for supporting local suppliers, and ‘just do it’ approach have been instrumental to the project’s success.
If you’re an institutional buyer, a farmer/food producers, or just passionate about local food and want to talk further about the OxFarmToFork project, we’d absolutely love to hear from you! Get in touch by emailing oxfarmtofork@gfo.org.uk. Read more about OxFarmToFork here.
