Welcome to our guide to where you can shop sustainably in and around North Berwick. We have developed this directory to celebrate the great opportunities we have here to buy a wide range of food produced in East Lothian and further afield in Scotland, whilst supporting our local businesses, becoming more resilient as a community threatened by the climate and nature crises and cutting our use of plastic. Please note the information contained in the directory was as accurate as possible when we compiled it but is subject to change. Inclusion in the directory does not imply any verification or certification. If you are a local food business and would like to be added to our website, do contact us at sustainingnb@gmail.com.

It’s good for the local economy. Buy local food direct from a local producer, or through an independent local shop, and you help keep money circulating in the local economy. Every £1 spent with a local supplier is worth £1.76 to the local economy, but only 36p if it is spent out of the local area. That makes local spending worth almost 400 percent more to the local economy. (Source: www.lm3online.com/about)

You are also helping to preserve all the local facilities needed by these small businesses, such as post offices and local bank branches. Supermarkets do not need these local services, and most of the money spent in them quickly leaves the local area. It can reduce pollution and carbon emissions. If you walk or cycle to the High Street you reduce your impact on the planet. You may also meet new people.

It can also help cut plastic and other waste. You will find paper bags for your fresh fruit and veg and wholefoods (or you can bring your own bags or containers), you can re-use egg boxes and re-fill your own bottles with laundry and cleaning products.

Buying local produce helps cut ‘food miles’, the distance food travels from its source to your plate. It cuts the need for road and air transport, and with it the CO2 emissions and pollution that add to global warming.

It’s healthier! As local food has not travelled far, it can often be fresher and healthier, as nutrient levels start to fall as soon as fruit and veg are harvested. It also uses a lot less packaging.

It can increase food security. Global food supply chains are vulnerable to unexpected threats such as the war. If we can demonstrate there is a market for local food with short supply chains, we make our community more resilient in an uncertain world.

Why choose organic? Choose organic, and you support a way of farming that is better for the planet, has higher animal welfare standards, is better for wildlife and for people. Read more at:

www.soilassociation.org/take-action/organic-living/whyorganic/