Organic: the preserve of the privileged?

Is organic the preserve of the privileged? We don’t believe it should be. Healthy, sustainably produced food should be accessible to everyone — not just people on higher incomes. Sustain's Bridging the Gap programme and Soil Association's Organic for All have convened a panel of speakers working across the food supply chain to explore the opportunities to make organic food more available and affordable to everyone and fair to farmers. We will delve into the challenges of achieving optimal scale alongside ethical practice, the market for smaller independent retailers and the responsibility of the larger retailer, and what policy shifts we need to see in support of enabling access to organic for all. Join us to hear how Bridging the Gap pilots are overcoming barriers to access for people on experiencing lower incomes.

Speakers: Carol Alyce Adams, Phil Swire, Sean Ruffell, Sophie Kirk
Chair: Hannah Gibbs

Speaker bios

Carol Alyce Adams wears many hats, but to name a significant few Carol is the manager of Cardiff Farmers Markets, spearheading the operation of three vibrant weekly markets. Beyond the markets, she leads Food Adventure Social Enterprise Ltd, a groundbreaking initiative which among other things is working on empowering individuals from the Global South to cultivate vegetables integral to their culture. Carol also leads on Bridging the Gap’s Cardiff Planet Card pilot.

Phil Swire is an organic farmer in North East Scotland at Balmakewan Farm. They farm red deer, easycare sheep and grow gluten-free oats for milling and combinable peas. Phil’s organic green split peas are supplying Aberdeen City’s schools as part of the Give Peas a Chance pilot project with Bridging the Gap. He is hugely focused on natural farming, working with nature to build fertility, soil heath, and ultimately grow healthy, nutrient-dense food.

Sean Ruffell is Managing Director of Organic North Wholesalers, one of the few large-scale wholesalers of exclusively certified organic fresh produce in the UK. Sean’s responsibilities include operations, staff management, sales, both establishing new and maintaining existing relationships with their ever-expanding number of growers and suppliers and developing and implementing new systems and software. Sean is supplying Bridging the Gap’s Liverpool Queen of Greens pilot.

Sophie Kirk works as a Senior Commercial Manager at Soil Association Certification supporting the development of organic farming, agri – food sectors and supply chains. With an MSc in Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Exeter, previous experience includes leading sustainable food strategies for local Government and public health and supporting the development of short supply chains.  

Chair bio

Hannah Gibbs is Bridging the Gap Programme Manager at Sustain. The programme aims to demonstrate ways to build better supply chains between climate and nature friendly food and people on a lower income. Hannah has a background in leading international development programmes, community engagement and social impact campaigns.

Find out about other Sustain events at ORFC 2025 here