FAQs

A Better Food Trader is an independent food retailer or wholesaler, such as a farm shop, veg box scheme, food co-op, bakery, market stall or food hub, that meets BFT’s six membership standards. That means selling sustainably produced food through short, fair supply chains, prioritising UK agroecological and organic farms, paying fair wages, and being rooted in their local community. When you shop with a Better Food Trader, you can trust that the food you’re buying has been produced in ways that are good for people, nature and the planet.

Supermarkets control most of what we eat: they set the prices farmers are paid (often unfairly low), decide which crops get grown, and use their shelf space and promotions to nudge us towards certain products. Better Food Traders do things differently. They work directly with local, climate-friendly farms, pay fair prices to producers, and keep more money circulating in the local economy. Research by Sustain found that three times more of your food pound goes to farmers when you shop with a local Better Food Trader compared to a supermarket.

Use the BFT Trader Map on our website to find your nearest Better Food Trader – just click the Buy Better Food button. You can search by location to discover local shops, veg box schemes, market stalls, bakeries, food hubs and online sellers in your area. Every trader on the map has been accepted into the BFT network and is committed to our membership standards, so you can be confident in the food you’re buying.

Right now, 95% of all UK retail food sales go through supermarkets. That concentration of power, in the hands of a very small number of corporations, shapes what gets grown, how farmers are paid, how workers are treated, and what ends up on your plate. By choosing to shop with independent, locally rooted food traders, you help keep money in local economies, support sustainable farming, and contribute to a food system that is more diverse, more resilient and fairer for everyone involved.

Better Food Traders prioritise UK farms that use agroecological and organic practices. This means farming that works with nature rather than against it, avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilisers that harm wildlife, pollute waterways and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. For meat and dairy, BFT members look for Pasture for Life certification or organic standards. For fish, MSC certification. These approaches support biodiversity, healthier soils, and a more resilient UK food supply.

Some sustainably produced food costs more than supermarket equivalents, and we think it’s important to be honest about why. Fairly paid farmers, living wages for workers, and nature-friendly farming practices all have a real cost, one that the current supermarket model often hides by squeezing producers and externalising environmental harm. That said, Better Food Traders include a wide range of businesses, from community veg schemes to food co-ops to market stalls, and many offer competitive prices. Shopping seasonally and locally can mean that prices are very competitive, and supermarkets often put a premium on organic making it more expensive in big retailers than from your local farmer.

Not exclusively, but organic and agroecological produce is central to what BFT members sell. All Better Food Traders commit to stocking the majority of their products from sustainably produced sources, which includes certified organic, chemical-free own-grown produce, and farms working to agroecological principles. Some members operate in areas where access and affordability make meeting this standard in full more challenging, and BFT works with them to support progress. What unites all BFT members is a genuine commitment to doing things differently.

Yes. The BFT network includes online sellers and veg box schemes that deliver directly to your door, as well as physical shops, market stalls and food hubs you can visit in person. Use the BFT Trader Map to explore what is available in your area, including online options.

Locally rooted food means food that is grown, produced and sold as close to your community as possible, through supply chains that are transparent and fair. Better Food Traders prioritise working with UK agroecological and organic farms, buying seasonally, and building direct relationships with food producers. This is the opposite of global supply chains, where food travels through many middlemen before reaching your plate, often at the expense of farmers, workers, the environment and traceability.

As well as connecting shoppers with local traders, BFT works to strengthen the whole independent food sector. This includes running training and peer-learning programmes for member businesses, supporting producers to reach new markets, campaigning on food policy, and influencing national conversations about how food is grown, sold and consumed. BFT has contributed to initiatives including the UK Local Food Growth Plan and has worked with researchers, local authorities and civil society organisations to build the case for a more sustainable, locally rooted food system.

When we say ‘member’, we mean those organisations who have completed an application, been accepted as part of the network and have a place on our trader map. Everyone working or volunteering at a member enterprise is part of the Better Food Traders network and welcome to access the membership.

The Better Food Traders membership is a diverse and evolving network of traders, from small volunteer-run community veg schemes, to cooperative shops, to national retailers and wholesalers. Engagement in the network looks different for different people, with some people able to dedicate time to regular member meet-ups and training; some mainly interested in contributing to and reading our research; and others choosing to spend time with us once a year at our Annual Gathering.

Whether you’re a sole trader, a Director of a limited company, a member of staff of a CIC or a volunteer board member at charity, if the enterprise you’re involved in is on the map, you’re a welcome part of the Better Food Traders network.

We’re not an accreditation body; we’re a network of likeminded traders – but the BFT badge is a mark of doing business in a certain way. To be a Better Food Trader member, enterprises need to commit to our 6 standards.

However, Better Food Traders membership is not equivalent to an ‘accreditation’ because we rely only on self-reported data, and do not audit applicants ourselves. In the early days of Better Food Traders, some of our members will remember that we ran an Accreditation scheme. It was time and resource-intensive, so we decided to focus on developing the membership offer instead.

Some of our members have good reasons why they can’t meet one specific standard. On a case by case basis, we want to accept organisations who we know are doing positive work towards food retail change. For example, a small number of members sell >50% organic because they are pioneering new markets for specific products, or are in under-served locations where access and affordability considerations affect their ability to reach this standard. However, we encourage and support all members to work towards meeting the standards baseline.

No. We rely only on self-reported data, and do not audit applicants ourselves.

Absolutely! We would be keen to hear your opinion. Email us at membership@betterfoodtraders.org.

Definitely! We would love to hear why you want to become a member and about your business. Email us at membership@betterfoodtraders.org.