For the Love of It
Farm-to-table Food Sourcing

Farm-to-table sources bulk quantities of seasonal, natural and ethically produced foods directly from small and independent farmers across Europe. Each order is fulfilled through the combined purchasing power of members of the East London Food Buying Group and additional Farm-to-table friends.

There are huge advantages of sourcing direct from farms.

For the farmers these include:

• Farmers get every penny that we pay, instead of sharing the sale price with distributors and retailers
• Supporting independent growers to continue their natural farming practices, and supporting livelihoods from the land
• Encouraging biodiversity by consuming heirloom and traditional varieties of foods

For the consumers:

• Access to products that are not available in stores in the UK
• Paying less than we do in store, through ordering in bulk from the farm door
• Eating the current season’s harvested produce which tastes amazing and is great for us
• Empowering ourselves to know exactly where and how our foods are grown
• Building awareness of the use of commercial pesticides, GMO seeds and deadly land contaminants
• Ensuring the transportation of our food and carbon footprint is low
• Maintaining an ethic of no-harm in relation to animal welfare and the land

How you can join?

1. Email your contact details to 'kathryn' at 'ftloi.com' to join the East London Food Buying Group and/or to become a Farm-to-table friend
2. We will add you to our email list and you will receive occasional emails with special seasonal produce on offer (e.g. this season’s olive oil, walnuts in shell, preserved artichokes, camargue rice, dried Portuguese figs)
3. The price of each product includes produce + transportation + 20% resourcing cost
4. Transfer your payment for the order before the order due date
5. Pick-up your order from an E2 Bethnal Green location from the given date and times
6. Promote and refer Farm-to-table to your local friends and colleagues!

Why is it important?

In 2012, I had the pleasure of being with over 5000 passionate and small-scale farmers of traditional and naturally grown produce at the Slow Food festival in Italy. The halls were packed with growers proudly exhibiting their local produce from all over the world such as juicy figs and carob from Portugal, nutty white poppy seeds from the Slovak republic, preserved vine leaves from Greece, bursting raisins and berries from Afghanistan, fragrant vanilla from Mexico and green heirloom rice from Indonesia. During every interaction I was inspired by the consistent message of each producer’s commitment to preserving the environment, continuing their cultural food traditions and their knowledge of the benefits of natural farming and the wonderful result of eating a wholesome diet. To start sourcing foods directly from farmers in Europe is a “no-brainer” for the ideals of FTLOI. I am extremely excited to be able to get access to incredible products you cannot easily find outside the farm door of these great producers and to help support some wonderful farmers as a result.

For the Love of it
Farm-to-table Food Sourcing