Campaign launched to boost regional produce

Jan 31 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

Jane Hall explains why your help is central to the success of The Journal Taste North East England campaign.

BUY local, use local, eat local – that’s the message of a new campaign launched by The Journal today.

And we want you to play your part in a campaign that’s not only healthy for the North-East economy – but healthy for you.

The aim of the Taste North East England initiative is to encourage not only more shops to stock produce from our region, but to urge more restaurants and hotels to use local food and drink and persuade more people to buy what’s on their doorstep.

This area is home to some of the country’s best large and small craft food and drink producers. Yet the North-East has the lowest number of established artisan food and drink companies of any English region, and is the poorest performing in terms of annual turnover.

The last report conducted into locally produced food and drink in this region was published in November 2006 by One NorthEast and mainly used figures compiled by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2003. It estimated the local and regional foods market represented 6% of such sales in England. For the North-East that would have been equivalent to £100m based on the 2003 data and prices.

But other sources put the actual scale of regional food sales much lower at just £71m or 4%.

By comparison, local and regional produce accounted for sales totalling £802m in the South-West, £765m in East Anglia and £544m in the South-East, between 10%-20% of total annual food and drink turnover.

East Anglia achieved its success on the back of 176 regional food and drink producers, just 17 more than the 159 operating in the North-East.

The One NorthEast report concluded: “The North-East still compares unfavourably to the average at only 4%.” Which is why The Journal is launching its campaign to not only boost sales, usage and availability of local produce on home soil, but to put the region on the food map nationally and finally lay to rest the myth that the area between the Scottish Border and North Yorkshire is a culinary desert. The Journal has the backing of regional food group Northumbria Larder and One NorthEast, whose target is to boost the homegrown food market to 10% of annual turnover, or £180m.

Frances Rowe, One NorthEast’s rural and environment manager, said: “I would like to see us aiming for 10%, or between £180m and £190m a year turnover. It’s a stiff target, but we have some cracking food businesses in this region who are producing products that stand against anybody in this country.

“Many do have an outdated opinion of our region. Yorkshire is regarded as a food region, and we are not. In the South-West local produce is everywhere and is flagged up. Do people expect the same thing here? Increasingly they are. Our offer still needs to be better though and we do have to work hard to get it so.”

Regional food has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, particularly with the growing interest in the provenance of the products we consume. But while attitudes to local food are changing, the UK cannot claim to have the deep-rooted food and drink culture that such nations as France and Italy enjoy.

The North-East is still lagging behind in the growth of its quality regional food and drink sector, especially when it comes to servicing the needs of tourists.

A recent survey focusing on accommodation and food commissioned by Northumberland Tourism discovered visitors were less than enthusiastic about the county’s cuisine with pubs and restaurants all viewed as below average.

Ms Rowe said: “We do have a lot of catch-up to do. But the interesting thing is that people are interested in the production of their food and the link between food and place. All the major multiples are also looking to increase their local food – it’s telling that Tesco is opening an office in York – and talks are taking place to get more on the shelves.”

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Campaign aims

Aims of The Journal Taste North East England campaign:

To encourage more shops – including supermarkets – to stock more North-East food and drink

• To encourage more hotels, restaurants, pubs and cafes to serve more locally-produced food

• To encourage more people to appreciate the value of buying more locally produced food and drink

• To support farm shops and farmers’ markets.

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Why buy local?

• Fresh local produce is often cheaper than imported fresh food in supermarkets.

• Local food helps forge closer links between producers and customers. It increases understanding of the countryside and how food is produced, and the customer has a better knowledge of where the food comes from.

• Buying local food helps the local economy. Staying local helps farmers and producers retain a bigger slice of the retail market.

• By supporting local businesses in the food chain, such as farm suppliers, processing facilities and independent retailers, jobs are created and more money circulates locally.

• Local food is good for the environment. Buying local means fewer food miles – the distance food travels between producer and consumer. This means less pollution from transportation of food. Buying from local shops saves petrol costs.

• Local food is fresher than imported produce. It doesn’t lose nutrients through long distance transportation and long periods in storage.

• Seasonal produce is more easily accessible, and customers can enjoy eating foods for the time of year, like strawberries in early summer.