SIGN OUR EAT LOCAL PETITION

We are calling on local shops and restaurants to sell more local produce – that’s food that’s been grown, raised and caught in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Buying local food helps reduce food miles and therefore cut down on CO2 which has been strongly linked to climate change and supports the local economy – keeping local people in work.

But it isn’t always easy to buy local food. Not everyone lives near a farm shop or has time to go to a farmers’ market.

This is why we are calling on local shops to support the local community by selling local produce.

Some local shops – such as Cotton’s Bakery in Bitterne, Uptons of Bassett and Bay Leaves Larder in Chandler’s Ford – are already proving that it’s profitable to sell local food.

As well as collecting signatures of people who want more local food to be available we are also collating where they shop, so we can let shopkeepers know where there is a demand for local produce.

We have already collected hundreds of signatures but to make a real impact we want more!

To sign the petition, visit dailyecho.co.uk/news/campaigns/ eat_local/petition.

You can also download a petition from the website. If you would like a hard copy of the petition to be sent to you, call the features team