Every year I sit on the judging panel for the Quality Food Awards . The Local Food category has very strong entries but I know from the businesses I meet regularly there are more great products that we don't see. Products which truly capture the meaning of 'local', using locally sourced ingredients or regional recipes to make winning products that offer quality and value to consumers. The Food Network is collaborating with The Quality Food Awards this year to encourage more producers to enter this category, We will be speaking to both producers and regional food groups over the coming months to help them identify the best foods from their region and enter them. The Food Network will be working with businesses to help them submit the right information and to select the best products to put forward. Entries open for this year's QFA's in March , before then we will be speaking to the local producers and regional food groups and working to make sure you are well represented when judging begins in August .
Think what the publicity of winning a Quality Food Award could do for your business?
According to IGD, which conducted a survey of over 1000 shoppers in the UK,
designed to be a representative sample of the population, 30 per cent said they
have specifically bought local food in the
last month. The same survey in 2006, just 15 per cent gave an affirmative answer
to the same question.
Of these, some 57 per cent gave their reason for pocking local foods as
perceived freshness, as it has not had to travel so far.
But 54 per cent also said the wanted to support local producers (up from 28
per cent in 2006); 34 per cent wanted to support total retailers (up from 18 per
cent); and 29 per cent said they wanted to keep local jobs in the area (up from
14 per cent).
A spokesperson from the market research organisation confirmed that the
questions posed included manufactured goods, such a locally-made pie, not just
fresh meat and produce. The survey was conducted at a range of shopping sites,
from retailers to farm shops.
Some 31 per cent of respondents said they would like to see more local food
available to them (up from 12 per cent in 2005); 20 per cent of people said they
would like a farm shop to be established near them.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD, was not surprised by the
findings, even coming on the back of the worst recession since the 1930s.
“These figures prove what we have been saying throughout the recession –
shoppers are looking for both value and values,” she said. “They are not
simply looking for cheap food in tough times, they also expect the grocery
industry to support their moral and ethical values.”
The survey also found swelling interest in Fairtrade goods, with 27 per cent
saying they had bought it in the last month (up from 9 per cent in 2006), and 18
per cent reported buying products with high animal welfare standards (up from 12
per cent).
The full findings of the survey are published in the 2010 edition of IGD’s
paid-for Shopper Trends report.
( from Food And Drink Europe by By Jess Halliday, 02-Feb-2010)