Big boost for French farmers as people demand higher quality food during lockdown

There has been a dramatic increase in demand for locally produced food as people seek to avoid the big supermarkets.

Since the lockdown started, French farmers and local food producers have been looking at ways to get produce to people more directly. This has created a boom in e-commerce with people opting in to collect food baskets with locally produced fruit and vegetables all across France.

The convenience of locally produced food and new technology is creating a closer connection between consumers and local farmers – something that has happened thanks to the pandemic, and people are also finding the quality is substantially higher.

Farmers have reported that consumer buying habits are changing and that more people want to get locally produced food that is of a higher quality – and for the same price as in the supermarkets.

With the lockdown in force and restrictions on shoppers going into local supermarkets, the experience of shopping has changed in the past several weeks, and online demand has outstripped supply.

Could this be the start of a shift towards local food collections and e-commerce stores that offer locally made fruit and veg?