Buying local produce is a 'vote for the community'

A local grower is encouraging islanders to buy Guernsey produce this Christmas and beyond.

Jock Pettitt runs the Soil Farm and the Farm Shop, selling local and ethically sourced food and products.

Mr Pettitt said he hoped islanders would "support local growers to produce food year-round so that we have an abundance of local food available right through the year".

"It's a vote for community, it's a vote for local farming, it's a vote for our environment, our wildlife," he added.

Mr Pettitt said you could make your entire Christmas dinner local.

He added: "At the moment locally you'll be finding root veg, you'll be finding salad... you can get a really lovely beautiful piece of local beef or a roast pork or a gammon."

He said poultry could not be processed locally but it was something that was being worked on, adding: "So maybe in a year or two, there'll be that goose or that turkey, that chicken, that duck on the table as well."

Another opportunity to have a Guernsey Christmas is considering where you buy gifts.

Chantal Rautenbach is the owner of the Guernsey Hamper Company and exclusively works with local producers, with more than 50 on her books.

"I find it empowering to give other small local producers a platform to work on and build up their businesses as well," she said.

Ms Rautenbach said buying gifts on island had many benefits.

"It cuts out all the air miles, the plastic, the packaging, all sorts of things like that [and] it gives back to our local economy as well," she said.

Rae Bearder runs Rae's Willowcraft and makes decorations at this time of year.

She said more people were "appreciating" local items.

"To actually make something for Christmas for somebody else or just for the pleasure of it that you know has been grown and designed on the island is something really special," she said.

Mrs Bearder said she loved the idea of having an entirely local Christmas.

"We will have Guernsey decorations and we are growing our own Brussels sprouts, but I think having a Guernsey Christmas is a fantastic idea and I think maybe next year we should be trying to do that," she said.

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