Welcome to our Taste Local Toolkit
Why a local food toolkit?
Over the last ten years Skye and Lochalsh has become increasingly well-known as an area which is famous for its food and drink. But it wasn't always so. It has been the result of many people and organisations working together which has achieved this success.
Since the late 1990s, Skye and Lochalsh has actively developed a local food economy. Agriculture and fisheries are a very important part of the economy, however, much of produce is exported from the area in its raw state. Previously, this meant that there was very little added value for producers and very little promotion of the fantastic range of food that was grown or caught locally.
The demand for local food now outstrips supply.
The decision to concentrate on developing local food and drink was a conscious one, involving a number of different organisations and individuals. People came to it from different directions - from recognising the lack of horticulture in the area to being unable to purchase seafood landed locally that was taken to mainland Europe; and the increasing interest amongst a small but growing group of people who wanted to know where their food came from.
The achievement of our vision for a sustainable local food economy has been assisted by public sector organisations and by funding and advice from local and national agencies, trusts and charities. There have been many steps taken in reaching this stage and there are still many more ahead, however, from this starting point, the area has developed significantly and now has a world-class reputation for its food and drink.
Sharing experience
Our toolkit has been developed in order to help other groups and communities to find some ready made advice in developing food and drink projects. We hope you can use some the best of our experiences in Skye and Lochalsh, and maybe avoid some of the pitfalls.
The toolkit will walk you through a number of different projects, all devised to develop local food and drink in your area, and provide references to more detailed material which could help you in developing your project. We also see the toolkit as a celebration of the achievements of our local food community, our local food and drink businesses and our innovative and exciting projects.
And so, we want to share our experiences and knowledge and have created this toolkit to describe the many different things we have done to develop our local food economy - setting up a local distribution system, organising food and drink festivals, creating promotional material and a host of other projects to support our local food and drink.
How to use the toolkit
The toolkit is divided into different sections based on a range projects, and each section has an index. Each topic page has links to related pages, downloadable documents, and links to other webpages with related material. There are also contact names and e-mail addresses where appropriate.
Our archives
Many of the reports, leaflets, press cuttings and photographs relating to the information in this toolkit has been catalogued and is available for reference by contacting inglis@lochviewhouse.co.uk
The catalogue can be downloaded here [download pdf of toolkit archive]. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources at present to send copies out by post, but we will send you links by email to source materials where possible.
The toolkit is maintained by Skye and Lochalsh Food Link CIC and any feedback about the toolkit or its contents should be sent to feedback@tastelocal.co.uk