Groundbreaking Digital Platform to Showcase Cumbria's Agricultural Heritage
Cumbria’s farming and food story is set to take centre stage this autumn with the launch of Nourish Cumbria, a pioneering new digital platform designed to showcase the county’s rich agricultural heritage.
Nourish Cumbria aims to introduce the first-ever interactive map of Cumbria’s agricultural landscape, providing a comprehensive picture of how food is produced, processed, and enjoyed across the county.
The innovative platform will feature detailed case studies of farms and food producers across diverse sectors, alongside a visual map tracing the journey of local food from field to fork. It’s overriding objective is to protect and safeguard the food that is produced by the hundreds of family farms and secure the future of our county’s rural sector. It will achieve this by:
This, the first phase of the project, focuses on gathering information from local farms and businesses to populate the website. The platform targets Cumbrian farmers, local businesses, county residents, and visitors to the region, serving as both an educational tool and a business development resource. Future phases will extend the digital map to allied businesses that support farming, and include a detailed economic impact assessment, measuring the value of pounds spent on Cumbrian produce.
Nourish Cumbria is a unique collaboration of likeminded people and organisations, and has been developed through a partnership between the Food Cumberland Partnership, Cumberland Council, NFU, University of Cumbria, Cumbria Farmer Network, H&H Group Plc (including Harrison & Hetherington, H&H Insurance Brokers and H&H Land & Estates), Paragon Vets and Cumbria Tourism.
Richard Rankin, CEO of H&H Group Plc, who has played an integral role in initiating the project, commented, “Cumbria’s farmers and growers underpin our economy, our communities, and our identity. Nourish Cumbria is about recognising and celebrating that contribution, creating new opportunities, and making the connections between producers, local businesses, and visitors more visible than ever before.”
Cllr Justin McDermott, Cumberland Council’s Portfolio Holder for Public Health and Communities, added, “Food and farming are at the heart of Cumbria’s culture and wellbeing. Nourish Cumbria will not only strengthen our local economy, but also help residents and visitors understand the value of choosing local. This project is about connecting people with where their food comes from, celebrating the farmers who produce it, and ensuring our communities can thrive long into the future.”
Believed to be the first project of its kind in the UK, this initiative has already attracted national academic interest, having been showcased at the City Food Symposium in London earlier this year
As part of its soft launch, Cumberland Council’s Food Partnership has funded research to build and populate the Nourish Cumbria website and Richard Rankin has requested support from businesses, “We are asking farmers and growers to complete a short survey to help us gather information for this groundbreaking platform. Your contribution will help demonstrate the importance of farming to Cumbria’s economy, and give your business visibility to local people, policymakers, and visitors.”
Take part here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/NourishCumbria - Thank you!