Diversity of Informal Chains

A diversity of informal chains, from Farmer markets, roadside sales, pick-up-own-farms, box schemes, home deliveries, mail order, e-commerce, social media that are in a face-to-face have settled inside the everyday life. They are not part of what is seen as the global economy but are a large and essential part of the ordinary economy in Latvia. Lots of special events and fairs, local shops, restaurants, caterings are using the informal chain of providing food. Slow food movements promote locally grown food and narrate the ones behind the food. Weekly organic markets attract the citizens to get into discussion with the grower and campaign healthy food. Made/Grown in Latvia show the importance of sovereignty and the support of the local economy. Helping savējie, theirs, is an important Latvian behaviour to demonstrate the importance of living in a free nation and having an own country. Being independant, not belonging to another system, is what makes these informal networks strong.

'Resilient food production systems, which provide healthy and safe food for all people, also preserving biodiversity and natural resources and ensuring animal welfare. Support multitude of smallholder farmers, gardeners and small-scale fishers who produce local food as the backbone of the food system.'(1) The many crises and food shortages in this country have led to a change in how food is distributed. Naturally they worked more and more towards the decentralization of food chains. Every period of economic shortage intensified relations between producers and consumers in local food webs to counter the expansion and power of the big players, eg. supermarkets. While cooperation was forced during a certain period in history and never functioned, Latvians are not keen anymore to any kind of working together. Therefore the chains are mostly individual activities sometimes making advantage of social platforms. Due to the communistic period, social platforms are fairly well developed as a need to survive the system and its shortages. Nowadays, these building blocks allow for people to develop their own food distribution systems and farmers to produce and process food for their communities. Some of the chains attempt to work out food safety rules and elaborate local food infrastructure for smallholder farmers. We see that local food systems helped to secure a fair income for farmers and restore the balance of powers in the food supply chain. 

There are various types of informal short chain distribution. Some form opportunities for professional farmers – multiple markets of different sizes as well as organised direct buying communities. Others are non commodified forms of distribution, where people from countryside provide the urban citizens with self-grown food.

Alternative distribution gives more agency to both the grower and the consumer.

Direct forms of distribution management allow the farmer to be in control of:

a) to whom they sell
b) what and how much they grow
c) when they deliver
d) the quality of the end product

The consumer on the other hand also has the agency of giving direct feedback, making choices and supporting the farmer in his daily practice. As opposed to the supermarket that gives the illusion of choice through supply and demand principle, these alternative distribution chains actually do allow the consumer to have the power to influence the supply.