£10,000 grant to develop Food Mixer web shop

The Calderdale Food Mixer is a web portal showcasing local food businesses, hosted online by the Open Food Network and in Calderdale by Halifax Opportunities Trust.

It has received £10,000 from the foundation to develop its web shop and fund a series of free taster events in Halifax and Hebden Bridge. The grant will also support weekly mixers’ and fund work to reduce food waste.

A mixer has been up and running at the Queen Hotel, opposite Todmorden Railway Station, since November 2018.

From this month, a second mixer will take place at the Egg Factory every second and fourth Thursday of the month.

Food Mixer host Marie-Claire Kidd said: “The Food Mixer enables consumers to shop for local food online just as they would shop at a supermarket website.

“They can browse hundreds of products – from Saker fruit buns to Yorkshire Dama cheese – then pick up their shopping at one of our weekly mixers. Our mixers are a chance for producers and customers to meet and mingle. Producers are already finding ways to work together via the mixers.”

Emma Woods-Bolger, assistant director of Community Foundation for Calderdale, said: “Independent businesses and shops are the bedrock of our communities. When they thrive they create cohesive towns and strong economies.

“If every adult in Hebden Bridge diverted just £5 of their weekly spend from the supermarket to local suppliers, it would bring in an extra £2.6 million into the local economy over 12 months.”