Grown • Produced • Caught • Reared • Brewed • Crafted • Cooked
- Are you concerned about the integrity of food labelling?
- Do you believe that all UK producers should be working to the same ethical standards?
- Would you like to see more support and promotion of local produce?
- Do you think it’s time for a new initiative to help UK producers fight back?
Please allow us to introduce ourselves and Love Local Trust Local. We are:
- Putting consumer trust back into buying local
- Promoting products with genuine provenance and full traceability
- LOVE LOCAL TRUST LOCAL; a label you can trust
Our Story
We, the Cossins family, are fifth generation farmers. As well as our farm we own a freehouse pub, a butchery, and a farm shop in the Tarrant Valley, just outside of Blandford Forum in Dorset.
The Langton Arms, Rawston Farm Butchery and Farm Shop are well-known for their fantastic, local Dorset produce.
Every third year we host Open Farm Sunday (OFS) on the farm and take the opportunity to talk to as many local people as possible. Our visitors love knowing the story of the food they buy form us, the miles it has travelled and also that they are buying and eating genuine local produce.
We were frequently asked “how do we know that the food we buy really is what it says it is?”
At the 2018 OFS it became clear the scare stories in the media had created doubt in many of people’s minds, and the Cossins decided to do something about it. Love Local Trust Local, Dorset’s very own produce label and awards were born.
What We Do
We are passionate about Dorset, advocates of promoting British farming and the collaboration of small local businesses working together.
Cheap imported food flooding our British market puts our British farmers and producers at an unfair disadvantage.
Better food labelling is vital.
While we created the label by farmers for farmers and producers here in Dorset, our aim is to roll out this movement nationwide. It is important that consumers start to recognise the county flags, see at a glance what is grown or produced in their own county, and what is in season.
To achieve this, education is key. We need to tell the stories of where our food is grown and produced.
Hospitality and farming need to work closely together – naturally helping our health and wellbeing, and our carbon footprint will automatically be reduced. We currently import 50% of our vegetables and 75% of our fruit; unnecessary when we could be eating with the seasons.
As the creator of the Love Local Trust Local label, I (Barbara Cossins) have appeared on Channel 4’s Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast and also Escape to the Country, helping to raise awareness to a wider audience.
The 2022 Awards
In the summer of 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the inaugural Love Local Trust Local Awards were launched for Dorset producers.
The third Love Local Trust Local Awards opened for entries on the 1st May this year. There are 14 categories to choose from, with some new ones added for the first time this year.
The Love Local Trust Local Awards are FREE to enter and entries close on the 1st September 2022. After this, judging and tasting will take place through the autumn and there will be an awards ceremony in early February hosted at Kingston Maurward College, one of the Love Local Trust Local sponsors.
Work with us
Raise the profile of your business
Become a champion of the Love Local Trust Local
Promote your own business and services to local, forward thinking other businesses
Be an early adopter and become part of the Love Local Trust Local family
Associate yourself with multi-award-winning Dorset businesses, The Langton Arms and Rawston Farm Butchery & Farm Shop
12 months of promotion and coverage for your business via our social media channels
A beautiful plaque bearing the Love Local Trust Local logo to display
The Love Local Trust Local Awards are championed by sponsors who also make up the judging panel. Small, local businesses supporting each other.
To find out more, you can visit www.lovelocaltrustlocalawards.co.uk or email awards@lovelocaltrustlocalawards.co.uk
