At his workshop in Lewes last month, Rob Hopkins called the supermarkets “extractive industries” because they export wealth from the town. It can be estimated that Lewes people spend about £21 million pounds a year on food. (1)
Most of that, maybe £16 million, does still go to the supermarkets despite the growth of the Farmers’ Market and Food Market.
Rob talked about the enormous potential of diverting even a tenth of those millions to local businesses. Think what a transformative effect even £2 million would have in terms of local jobs – and much of this money would again be spent locally.
Spending £10 in a local shop is worth £25 to the local economy because of local re-spending. And local food shops employ three times as many people for the same amount of turnover.
It is possible to obtain virtually all food needs in our local independent shops and markets. See Where to buy And price need not be a barrier for many people – see Lewes Food Market’s price comparison
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