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Over the past decade or so, the long tradition of quality food growing
and manufacturing in Bridport and the surrounding countryside, has
been supported with the development of the West Dorset Food and
Land Trust. Started in 1996, this community development organisation
has played a key role in developing the local food sector in the
West Dorset  area
and is held as a benchmark for local sourcing across Europe.
The Trust has given rise to the Centre for Local Food which provides
a commercial kitchen, used by both adult and children’s education
services. From there, Local Food Links Ltd. provides a fruit and
hot meals service to eight local schools using locally sourced produce,
wherever possible.
Bridport was awarded Beacon Town status in 2003 by the Countryside
Agency, setting Bridport as an exemplar of good practice and the
first town in the country recognised for its food initiatives. This
led to a very successful Year of Local Food in 2004, and the first
Bridport Food Festival. The Food Festival continues to be held each
June in the town and showcases local chefs and producers. The Festival
is organised by the Bridport Local Food Group, which run competitions
and visits to farms for local schools. The support of celebrated
food writers and chefs is much appreciated at these events, but
the focus is very much on local foods produced by local people.
One of the best and most popular Farmers’ Markets in the country
is held in Bridport on the second Saturday of every month. Based
in the Arts Centre in the centre of the town, it now spills out
onto the pavement, and queues form outside from 8.30am onwards.
The town also has what is reputed to be the oldest family-run butcher’s
shop in the country and a brewery, still producing local ales. Cider
of every colour and strength is produced on farms, and a vineyard
at Salway Ash produces both white and red wines. With independent
bakers and butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers, the high street
is thriving.
The diversity of the local area is staggering. The local agriculture
is very much geared towards livestock, and there are still many
small farms in the area whose families go back generations. Dairy
and sheep are the main activities, but certain areas lend themselves
to horticulture, and vibrant farm shops and box schemes have developed
in recent years. The area is also famous for the most unlikely of
West Dorset products, the hottest chilli in the world.
Of course, part of the local area is taken up by coastline, and
rope and net-making has been one of the mainstays of the town for
over eight hundred years. Fishing is still a part of local business,
and there is a wide range of restaurants and hotels serving the
best of the catch.
The Town Council also maintains a large number of allotments throughout
the town, which provide local people with an opportunity to grow
their own produce. A number of new allotments were created as part
of the Bridport Community Orchard project, established at the rear
of St Mary’s Church. The Orchard site managed by the Bridport
Community Orchard Group, is open to the public and provides a nice
route into town from St Mary’s playing fields via a riverside
walk from the football club car park. The Apple Day held each October
in the Orchard has become a very popular annual event.
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