ABOUT US
The Good Food Loop is a not-for-profit online wholesale market connecting sustainable producers with like-minded business customers. We help smaller scale agroecological producers reach new local and regional wholesale and retail markets for their produce, such as online food hubs, shops, veg box schemes, cafés and restaurants.
In turn, wholesale customers benefit from weekly access to a wide range of local, sustainable produce, and speciality and seasonal food and drink from across the South West region. Watch our ‘Connecting up the Dots’ film and read on to find out more about the Good Food Loop.
Why Agroecological?
Agroecological farming creates a sustainable, productive landscape that’s mutually beneficial to both people and the planet’s ecosystems. It improves soil health, supports diverse habitats and provides nutrient-dense food for our communities.
We want to help agroecological producers grow their businesses and markets, increase their production, and make sustainable, fresh produce available to more people.
Click below to find out how we define agroecology.
HOW THE LOOP WORKS
The Good Food Loop’s online shopfront is hosted on the Open Food Network. The Open Food Network enables producers to sell to wholesale customers through the Good Food Loop’s online wholesale marketplace, and to retail customers through local food hubs.
Wholesale customers can order a range of fresh produce online each week, including vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, dairy, eggs, breads, preserves, ferments, animal feed and more. There’s no minimum order and customers can order from multiple producers and receive everything in one single delivery.
We work to weekly order cycles, meaning we take orders for 5 days, and close orders for 2 days whilst producers prepare their orders and the Good Food Loop delivers them to customers’ doors or a convenient collection point.
Producers list their stock each week according to availability and the seasons. Orders are harvested or made to order, ensuring high quality, fresh produce, and no waste.
Producers set the prices for the produce they sell, and the we charge customers 10% of the order value to cover our distribution costs. Being not-for-profit, the Good Food Loop can keep costs to a minimum with any surplus ploughed back into growing a more resilient and abundant South West food network.
Any More Questions?
Visit our FAQ page to find out more.
DISTRIBUTING GOOD FOOD
The Good Food Loop currently has two delivery routes operating on Thursdays. Both vans collect and deliver produce at multiple stops along the routes, and meet to exchange produce at Shillingford Organics near Exeter.
The Cornwall & South Devon route starts at Tamar Grow Local in Cornwall, and covers Callington, St Mellion, Saltash, Plymouth, Ivybridge, Totnes, Dartington, Buckfastleigh and Ashburton.
The East Devon route starts at In My Back Yard in Branscombe, and covers Exeter, Ottery St Mary, Honiton and Sidmouth.
Check our delivery map for the latest on collection and delivery areas along these routes. If you’re a customer, producer or hub and aren’t in the catchment area, please contact us as we might be able to include you.
OUR PRIORITIES
We’re a not-for-profit organisation working with partners, producers, customers and food hubs to create a fair, sustainable wholesale distribution network that:
Supports Producers
We want to help our community of producers to establish and grow their businesses by reaching new wholesale and retail markets, paying them a fair price and ensuring prompt, reliable payment.
Is Positive for the Planet
We support agroecological production, prioritise short supply chains, improve the efficiency of distribution and use a zero-waste model. Together we can create a sustainable food production landscape that’s good for people and the planet.
Builds a Resilient Food System
We’re growing a distribution network for producers and customers across the South West. This improves access to agroecological produce at peak freshness, helps smooth out peaks and troughs in supply and demand, and increases regional resilience to global food supply issues.
Is For the Benefit of All
We work collaboratively and in a not-for-profit way to make sure that our distribution network is run for the benefit of producers, customers and our wider communities.