An East of England event attracting the public to buy local sourced food has generated nearly £1 million for the regional economy.
The East of England Co-op has seen sales of local produce rise to £972,050 during its Sourced Locally Fortnight (5th – 18th June), a 5.9% increase from last year’s event.
The annual event is held by the Co-op to encourage shoppers to support local businesses by making one swap in their basket for something local.
More than 60,000 punnets of local strawberries and nearly 7,000 bunches of asparagus were sold during the fortnight, which comes as the Co-op celebrates a landmark decade of its award-winning Sourced Locally initiative.
Roger Grosvenor, Joint Chief Executive at the East of England Co-op, commented: “In true co-operative spirit, colleagues and producers across the region have come together over the past fortnight to talk about the importance of ‘shopping local’. That hard work has paid off and the figures speak for themselves.
“The Sourced Locally initiative has gone from strength to strength over the past ten years and we are proud to be keeping money in our regional economy and improving choice for our customers.
“It has been fantastic to celebrate ten years of Sourced Locally but our heads are now firmly focused on the future and our continued commitment to championing East Anglian produce.”
Local producers
Local businesses to benefit from the Co-op’s Sourced Locally initiative include Fairfields Farm Crisps, of which 11,560 packets were sold, and St Peter’s Brewery which sold 4,833 bottles of beer.
Helping shoppers make the switch to local was a special ‘ham, egg and chips’ meal promotion, with Taste of Suffolk Sandwich Ham, Havensfield Eggs and potatoes from farms across the region available for £5.
Throughout the fortnight, producers visited East of England Co-op food stores to showcase their produce and offer samples.
Sourced Locally was created by the East of England Co-op in 2007 to support local producers and has since ploughed £57 million back into the region’s economy.
The Co-op marked the pivotal anniversary of Sourced Locally by bringing together ten of the region’s top producers for an iconic portrait by award-winning photographer Jenny Lewis.
The all-female shot was commissioned to celebrate the ten inspiring women who are helping to lead the future of food and drink production.
