At Loaf we’re proud to stock food and products made locally by other independents and we strive to use local, ethically sourced ingredients in our baking and lunches.
Our bread is baked with flour from Matthews Cotswold Flour who provide us with local, organic flour for a good price. We are happy to sell you this flour by the kilo.
We also source heritage grains from a variety of small farms and have a long-term plan to move as much of our baking over to this as possible. Watch for news on this project.
Fresh vegetables for lunches are sourced from EA Cook at Birmingham wholesale markets, while our meat comes from Rossiters on Mary Vale Road.
Beans and pulses for our veggie rolls and lunches come from Hodmedods.
For our staple ingredients, we use Suma Wholesale, a wholefoods co-operative that share our values.
In our shop, you’ll find the following local produce on the shelves (subject to availability)
Pip’s Hot Sauces – a local legend, we’ve been stocking Pip since we opened. Her staple La Boca Del Diablo is divine and she’s always experimenting with new flavours.
Jacky’s Pantry – Based in Redditch, Jacky’s make a wide range of delicious small-batch jams and preserves from home-grown, foraged and locally sourced ingredients. They also stock the Attic brewery around the corner with their cider, so go check that out too!
Arden Forest Honey is a family-run business in the ancient forest of Arden with 40 hives pollinating wildflowers and local farms. We’re starting with their standard Wildflower honey but hope to expand the range if there’s demand.
Rea Valley Apiary could not be more local. Started and based in a back garden on Cartland Road, the business manages small colonies across south Birmingham. We often get honey from the Stirchley hives, so if you have a garden locally there’s probably pollen from your flowers in this honey.
Quinton Meadow Honey is run by George and Sue Jackson whose bees collect nectar from the Quinton Meadows Nature Reserve, Woodgate Valley Park, the local allotments and urban gardens. George likes to think of their honey as ‘one year in a jar’, as the honey is harvested just once in August, creating a unique amalgam of all the flora in the area.
Quarterhorse Coffee – Quarterhorse select green beans by quality and seasonality from trusted suppliers and hand-roast them on Bristol Street, Birmingham.
Eggs come from family-owned farms within 50 miles of us, supplied by Oakleigh Foods who also bring us butter from Warwickshire.
We’re always looking for things to sell in the shop which complement our bread. If you know of a local supplier of interesting and/or ethical foodstuffs, please get in touch!