Morrisons launch bus tours to give public chance to connect with farmers

After partnering with Love British Food, the bus tours aim to bring the public closer to their food

clock • 2 min read
Morrisons launch bus tours to give public chance to connect with farmers

Taking place for the first this week in honour of Love British Food's British Food Fortnight, the first stop is with Cumbrian farmer Paul Coates, who has been supplying beef to Morrisons for over ten years. 

The idea is to give customers a chance to see behind-the-scenes and understand the realities of working farms.

Passengers will get the chance to see the day-to-day operations of farms, while also hearing first-hand about sustainability and what it means to Morrisons and those who supply the supermarket.

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Morrisons

Working with 2,500 farmers and growers all year-round,  the tours are a chance to showcase that, and the first trip will take passengers on tour around Paul's 420-acre mixed cattle, sheep and arable farm on top of Barrack Fell in the North Pennines.

Paul and his father Peter run the farm at Armathwaite, near Carlisle, where they supply Morrisons with their herd of 250 Beef Shorthorn cattle. 

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Sophie Throup, technical and sustainability director at Myton Food Group for Morrisons, said: "The Morrisons Farm Bus Tours will set off from stores to take the mystery out of where and how Morrisons food is produced. We're proud of our amazing farmers and want to show our customers the care that goes into producing the high-quality, fresh produce, dairy, and meat products that stock the shelves of Morrisons stores across the country. We are looking forward to hearing the feedback from our first bus trippers."

One customer, Rosie Fielder, attended the first Bus Farm Trip in Penrith and said 'getting to see where Morrisons produce comes from as well as the different animals and how they are kept was a great learning experience'. 

 

Morrisons has pledged to become the first supermarket to be completely supplied by ‘zero emission' British farms by 2030 – five years ahead of the industry and is working directly with its farmers to create affordable zero emission produce. It was the first supermarket to introduce its own carbon neutral egg and has partnered the NFU, Harper Adams University, and McDonald's UK to launch the first UK School of Sustainable Food and Farming aiming to embed new sustainable farming methods. Its partnership with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) and DEFRA also supports its farmers on the journey to net zero and helps address the skills gaps in agriculture.

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