The move follows an open letter written by Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans to the chief executives of eight major supermarkets asking for a filter which would direct shoppers to homegrown food to help boost the economy and cut the UK’s carbon footprint.
The letter was was co-signed by 125 cross-party MPs, and echoed a long-standing NFU ask dating back to 2016.
Simon Roberts, CEO at Sainsbury’s, said: “Many of our customers want to support British suppliers and make more conscious choices when doing their food shop, and our new Buy British webpage helps them to do just that through a curation of over 450 quality, 100% locally sourced products.
“We recognise the pressures that British farmers are facing and the importance of supporting them to maintain a resilient UK food system for the long term. Our relationships with farmers and suppliers are incredibly important to us and we remain committed to sourcing British as much as we can, now and in the future.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said it was fantastic to see supermarkets getting behind Dr Evans’ campaign. He said: “I’m delighted that Sainsbury’s is also backing British farmers by adding a British section online in order to signpost shoppers to home-grown produce.Our own independent research shows the public want to buy more British food from retailers and we have been championing this issue for some time.”
