Dispatches from Shetland

Mary’s Tour, Dispatches from Shetland 

Joined throughout by Beatrice Wishart (MSP Shetland) and Neil Beattie (Team Leader – Catering and Cleaning, Shetland Island), I visited 4 different businesses:

1. MacKenzies Farm Shop and Café - operated by The Kitchen Table.
   
2. Sandwich Bakery - who supply bread, cakes, pies and prepared sandwiches/roils throughout Shetland including to all primary and secondary schools.
   
3. Shetland Fish Auction - who manage the sale of the vast majority fish landed at Lerwick and Scalloway.
   
4. Shetland Farm Dairies - the only dairy processor on Shetland who supplies Shetland produced milk to the public sector (all schools), and retailers and private food service and hospitality throughout Shetland.  
   

Across these 4 agri-food and drink businesses we witnessed great entrepreneurial spirt, real resilience, the generation of, and support for, multiple local jobs and the willingness to take personal and professional risks to grow and expand (where possible). There was also a real and deep connection to place, a commitment to, and innovation in how they, supply and deliver to public and/or private sector customers (role of the local public bus service in delivery suppliers to schools and businesses) and the perfect storm which threatens their viability and capacity to continue to generate jobs and produce, process and serve local Shetland food and drink.  

We learnt how public food (in particular school food) is transforming in Shetland in terms of standardised school menus, local procurement, workforce pay and development, investment in food in schools (polytunnels and school gardens) and the recent award of Food for Life Bronze accreditation.   

We also learnt how the tourism sector is growing and offers real potential for small food and drink businesses but that more needs to be done to join up the support and facilitate creative partnership working (including between public and private sector).
  
Across the sites visited, a shared set of common challenges emerged namely:  

1. Workforce
   1. Loss of EU and other international workers putting real pressure on agri-food and drink businesses year round 
   2. The work on offer is considered unattractive to many (especially locals) due to the hours, weekend work, wages, physical demands and competition from other higher paid sectors such as Oil and Gas.  
   3. Housing shortages (public and private) make it very difficult/impossible for workers to access housing and/or afford live close to where they work thus making jobs (such as those at the Sandwick bakery) unattractive; 
2. Concentrated, precarious production, processing and retail 
   1. Reduction in the number of farms, in particular dairy farms (down to 2 in 2022 form 12 in 1994), which is threating, and restricting the quantity of, local milk supply and severely limiting growth opportunities especially in high value dairy processing 
   2. Rising costs of fuel, energy, inputs (feed; fertilisers), equipment, wages and changing regulatory requirements are putting severe pressure on already very tight margins 
   3. Major retailer are ad hoc in their support for local produce including dairy – turn to it in emergency but not consistent buyers 
   4. Challenges procuring Shetland Beef for schools meals and currently it is not offered in schools 
   5. Concerns about the limited and/or uncoordinated horticulture (fruit and veg) production on Shetland with calls for more public and private investment in more local production and greater partnership working between food service and hospitality and individual producers and/or producer networks.  
3. Impact of Planning on Local Food Environments 
   1. New supermarkets in Sandwich and Brae are putting huge pressure on and threatening the viability of local independent shops with household and other spend being drawn away from local independent shops and, in some cases, local wholesalers.  
   2. Noticeable impact on secondary school food uptake as new supermarkets are offering a substantial hot food ready to eat range and are built/being built very close to local high schools 
      
4. Island Specific Issues – Geography, Weather, Price Premium and missing processing infrastructure 
   1. Cost of procuring, and serving, Shetland food in Shetland schools, hospitals etc. requires the local authority to pay a significant premium over what they get through central funding (i.e. universal free school meals) 
   2. No approved abattoir for poultry slaughter 
   3. Despite extensive (though small scale) egg production on Shetland, there is no island facility for dating eggs which is a requirement for supplying local eggs in schools 
   4. Ongoing Covid 19 and recent severe weather disruption has impacted negatively on food and drink supply on the islands including school food 
   5. COVID 19 has uncovered a greater levesl of household fuel and food poverty than previously indicated. Innovative, locally developed initiatives, created during COVID 19, have helped approx. 90 additional families (160 children) through the COVID 19 crisis. 
   6. Shetland fishing fleets impacted by recent reductions in Cod quotas and there is concern that the evidence being used to make such decisions is not specific to, or reflective of, Shetland specific waters.  
5. Local Economic Analysis 
   1. Limited local economic data for, and analysis of, the true value, and multiplier effect, of the local agri-food and drink sector (including that which goes into public food) to the Shetland economy, including between island economies. 
6. Net Zero  
   1. Real interest in, and work done, to reduce the carbon footprint throughout the supply chain but concerns raised about the financial and other impacts and with the efficacy, and applicability of the data used (especially with respect to animal and dairy production) ​

Whilst Storm Dudley and Eunice have played havoc with my original plans to head straight from Shetland to the outer Hebrides (rescheduled to late March),  my grand tour of Scotland continues with trips next week to farms, a vegetable producer, community initiatives, independent local food retailers, and a central public kitchen with stops in  Glasgow (Mon 21st), Dumfries and Galloway (Tues 22nd), Argyll and Bute (24th) and Islay (25th).