The initiative began back in 2010. It was the vision of the founders' French entrepreneurs Guilhem Chéron, Marc-David Choukroun and Mounir Mahjoubi. With it, they created a new way for produce to reach the consumers which supported local producers and the local economy. More than seven years on from its inception, the initiative has expanded its operations, with more than 900 Food Assemblies across France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and most importantly in the UK.

My own local Food Assembly is one of eighty-five and counting Food Assemblies in Britain. My one happens every Thursday in the Deptford Lounge on Giffin Street. It is run by some hosts who organise the collection of the food from the people who have purchased it. It encapsulates the communal spirit of food production, putting a human face on the future of food retail.

Each Food Assembly across Europe has a set of producers that consumers are able to purchase food from. My local assembly is no different and our 10 producers are dotted around South London, Sussex and Kent. Each product has a kind of distinct story behind it and is as unique and amazing as the last. Under the Food Assembly, I feel that there is a high emphasis on local welfare and consumer satisfaction.

As the Food Assembly is online consumers are able to purchase produce from the producers directly. The producers have the opportunity to join Supply Assemblies that come with many benefits. Producers are at the centre of everything and set their own prices. This allows consumers to directly pay producers for the food they want online. This is beneficial as it removes the middleman and as a result, the producers gain more than 80 percent of profits from their transactions, compared to just 15-25 percent in most supermarkets. Additionally, because of the transparent nature of the transactions, farmers know the right amount of food to harvest and supply each week, to ensure that no food is wasted.

Out of the ten producers who contribute to my local food assembly, I would argue that certain ones do stand out from the rest. The first of which is A Very Nice Idea. They are a subscription-based service that provides “portion-sized healthy meal kits” which are quick to make and among other things are also nutritious and affordable.

Chegworth Valley is also worthy of note, which is a family run farm situated in Harrietsham, Kent. Although the produce comes from 34 miles away, it is worth the distance. The farm produces a rich selection of apples, pears, soft fruits and vegetables. They do so without the use of pesticides and chemicals. When you order from them you can take advantage of their healthy fruit boxes and their freshly produced fruit juices which are particularly popular.

The Fresh Fish Shop based in Haywards Heath, East Sussex is also a really good producer. They specialise in providing the highest standards of seafood and pride themselves on their “beautiful selection of fresh fish”. Their stock only comes from their trusted suppliers in the major seaports in the UK and they ensure they are sourced from low environmental impact farms. Through this, you can understand the trouble that they go through in providing the finest standards of seafood. They sell shellfish, pickled seafood, fish cakes and pies. On top of that, they also offer marinades, condiments, biodynamic eggs, fruits, vegetables, honey and even cheeses. So you can get quite a lot from there.

The producers who are apart of the Supply Assemblies are really impressed by the whole operation of everything. One producer in Kent described The Food Assembly as bringing “together the modern side of retail: the online ordering side, plus all the benefits of face-to-face retail”. The Food Assembly has given the producer a platform to promote her products and with the increased exposure, it allows her products to reach a wider audience and is a good opportunity for her business to grow. The producer goes on to say that there is “warm sense of community about it (The Food Assembly)” which shows how it is changing lives.

This presents the creative and innovative approach The Food Assembly takes toward distributing food and how it has changed lives in the process. In my opinion, the positive effects of this initiative will only continue. I feel very privileged to have something as good as this in Deptford.

Jesse Babudoh, City and Islington College