What is the story behind our food?

Local artisans and food producers

Food With A Story, an online artisanal and ethical food producer’s directory, is the brainchild of couple Deni and Carlin Archer. Believing passionately that people's food choices have a powerful effect on the world, they hope to raise awareness around food consumption through the collection of positive and ethical stories on their website.

The idea behind it is that by knowing how your food is grown - as well as understanding the impacts this may have on the environment - consumers are them empowered to make better choices.

‘We wanted to help create a link between consumers and producers…like they would have had in the old days where everybody went to a local market for food,’ says Deni.

Deni and Carlin have both been in tune with environmental issues for a long time - learned partially through their travelling experiences - and believe that the things we do shouldn't impact negatively on the world and the natural order. It was through their involvement with the Slow Food movement in 2010 that the Food With A Story idea began to take form in their minds.

‘People should be empowered to take control of their food systems,’ says Deni, who studied environmental science. ‘So much environmental destruction is wrought by over-farming and deforestation to create more agricultural land. I believe it is important to respect all people, animals and the earth.’

Carlin and Deni Archer

Through the work that they do, Food With A Story hopes to help people understand the effects of our food choices, as well as teach them how the right purchases can make a positive difference. In the same way, they aim to make it clear how unconscious purchasing can encourage certain unsustainable practises - for example by buying body products that contain palm oil we are supporting the destruction of Indonesian forests!

Both having other more full-time jobs has proved a challenge, but soon Deni and Carlin will be taking the time to focus on developing Food With A Story to its full potential. Having investigated only Western Cape food producers in the past, they hope to explore the rest of South Africa through their ‘The Real Food Trip’. Travelling from February until May, they also hope to create food trails in areas where there is an abundance of artisanal and ethical food stories.

To celebrate the run-up to this trip Food With A Story are running a competition , the prize of which is a hamper of authentic food products and food experiences from the producers that have been profiled on the website.

‘All of the people we have met through Food With A Story are just amazing and we want to help them make a success of their businesses,’ says Deni.

Enter now to win a hamper of food with a story!