Home comfort

In the months and years before coronavirus reared its ugly head and spread with undue haste around the world, the mantra ‘buy local’ was one to be heard frequently.

But over recent weeks it has morphed from an aspiration to a necessity for many.

And as we start to emerge from the lockdown, buying locally-grown produce is perhaps more essential than ever.

Not only will it directly assist in the rebuilding of shattered local economies but for many, during the darkest of times, it has been the only way to access the food and drink essentials we once all took for granted.

Produced in Kent’s Floortje Hoette, an organisation which promotes the local producer, said: “The coming together of the Kent community has been incredible. We’ve seen an enormous rise in the support for local shops and producers. Many people are swapping to local food suppliers – for some it’s the first time they’ve tried shopping locally.”

In addition, it has spawned a host of unlikely heroes - those for whom many of us turned in a bid to secure food as the major supermarkets found their shelves stripped bare by panicked shoppers.

Freddie Hewett is founder of coffee shop Stag which has

branches in Ashford and Canterbury.

He pivoted his business on the first day of the lockdown, having seen the direction of travel, contacting his local suppliers to fuel a home delivery groceries service covering the two areas and stretching to Folkestone and Tenterden.

“We source our fruit and veg, milk, eggs, apple juices and other artisan food and drink

from local providers,” Freddie explains.

“And they’ve been happy to have an additional outlet during this period.”

His aim was simply to serve the community during the crisis and break even. He’s done both, with up to 40 deliveries a day during the peak of the crisis.

He fully intends to keep his delivery service running going into the future.

Freddie Hewett at his Stag coffee shop - now offering home grocery deliveries; Floortje Hoette, chief executive at Produced in Kent, who has praised the way local producers have responded to the pandemic; some of the groceries provided by Stag