Stirling’s first online farmers’ market has achieved a record amount of sales, making it the most successful launch of a Food Assembly in mainland Britain.

In its first week alone, Stirling Food Assembly – which allows locals to shop online for seasonal produce from a range of local farmers and producers – attracted 101 orders of local produce equating to more than £2200 in sales.

Stirling-based charity Forth Environment Link, which hosts the Food Assembly, has been blown away by the opening market’s success.

Forth Environment Link’s director, Clara Walker said: “We are delighted that the people of Stirling are so keen to support their local farmers and producers by shopping local. This is great news for the local economy, for the farmers and producers who get a fair price for their product and get to keep over 80% for every item sold, for local people who can now get their hands on the best, freshest local produce available and for the environment by cutting down food miles and food waste. We can’t wait to do it all again next week!”

Shopping local also means supporting the work of Forth Environment Link, which receives a small percentage of sales from the market. The charity's 8.5% share will be reinvested in existing community initiatives that aim to increase access to affordable, local, healthy food. Projects such as Grow Forth and Forth Valley Orchards, which encourage people to grow, cook and eat local food, will be the first to benefit.

More than 700 local people have now signed up for Stirling Food Assembly and the eco-friendly scheme is already attracting more producers including Katy Rodgers, who will be offering a variety of dairy produce including milk straight from their Fintry-based dairy in refillable glass bottles.

There are currently three other Food Assemblies in Scotland. Leith Food Assembly member Stan Blackley said: “I shop at The Food Assembly because I value knowing where the food I eat has come from. It’s a joy to be able to meet the actual people who’ve grown, raised or produced the food you’re buying, and to build up a personal relationship of trust, respect and even friendship with them. By shopping at The Food Assembly, I get to know exactly where my food has come from, and who and what has been involved in getting it to me, and I can support small businesses, entrepreneurs and the local economy by eating fresh, quality, local produce.”

The scheme aims to connect shoppers with the people who make or grow food in their local area. Most of the food sold at the Stirling Food Assembly will come from within a couple of miles of the city, compared to an average of 600 miles with a supermarket.

All you have to do is register on the website to browse the local produce on offer, add items to your online basket and collect your shopping from Stirling Cycle Hub, by Stirling Train Station, on a Thursday evening from 4.30pm-6.30pm.

To register for Stirling Food Assembly visit: www.foodassembly.com