Jack grew up around the family business on the coast in Northwest Norfolk with two big passions kitesurfing and food. He is the founder of a foodservice business, supplying locally grown and speciality foods to chefs. After developing this as far as he could, he merged it with another foodservice business, paving the way for Jack to join the main family business, Alfred G Pearce Ltd.

Jack is incredibly passionate about food production as well as his family business. Despite moments of disheartenment with the food system and challenges within the industry he maintains an optimistic outlook. Jack aims to leverage his position to forge meaningful commercial partnerships with customers. He strongly believes in the responsibility of the food and farming sector to speak up and educate consumers about the industry and the value placed on the food people eat.

What changes do you want to see from the food industry in the transition to a sustainable system for nature, health and climate?

"My personal belief is that our sector must do more to help consumers see the value in food and food production. The food industry at times feels like a zero-sum game to deliver the lowest cost to consumers, at any cost. This is fine but in doing this we have devalued where food sits in people’s household budgets, and the true value of food.

The UK has one of the lowest expenditures on food as a percentage of household income globally. If we are going to make changes towards a more sustainable food system, we need to ensure consumers are prepared to embrace this change. The cost cannot be placed solely on a supply chain that has been pushed to the very edges of profitability.

This is not a march for the food industry to profit or contribute to rampant food inflation. I believe UK retailers, if managed correctly, can offer the ideal checks and balances to ensure that while food might be getting more expensive, consumers are getting more value from it being grown and produced in a way that contributes to the world we live in rather than degrades it."

What inspired you to agree to be part of our Farmer’s Advisory Board?

"Simple, it's easy to sit and criticise and moan about challenges but we must take ownership of the challenges we face, and this is an opportunity to have a small part in potentially shaping the future of our sector."

Follow Jack:
Instagram - @jack_grows
YouTube - Alfred G Pearce Ltd