Press Release

Guildhall Country Food Fair - Local Organic and Speciality Foods

Thursday, 09 December 2004

The final Guildhall Country Food Fair of 2004 is set to take place on the Saturday before Christmas the18th December. The success of the Food Fair in Derry’s Guildhall Square has been quite simply amazing.

To date, two markets have been held in Guildhall Square, capturing the busy Saturday trade in the City. Both have demonstrated beyond doubt the demand for organic farm and speciality products – as more and more consumers are moving away from pre-packed meals and processed foods to healthier options.

The Guildhall Country Food Fairs are a joint initiative between RAPID (Rural Area Partnership in Derry), Derry City Council, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and supported by the North West Organic Co-operative. The events have been funded by the Leader + Programme.

RAPID’s manager Susan Mullan believes that the success of the markets is down to the partnership approach, excellent marketing and promotion of the events, the high quality products available, the professionalism of the suppliers – and last but not least the support of the public.

“It is the people who come to the farmers markets which are making them such a success. It’s amazing to see so many people there from the early hours – queuing to get the best available locally produced, organic foods and speciality products”, said Susan.

“It also speaks volumes about the demand – from ordinary people – wanting to feed their families the best in natural produce, and how tired we’ve become of pre-packed, processed and tasteless food.

“It shows that people are prepared to pay a little bit more for taste and quality – and to ensure that they are feeding their families really nutritional foods – especially as people become increasingly aware of the need for genuinely healthy diets.”

Derry City Council, RAPID and the rest of the teams involved in making the farmers markets happen, are busy preparing for what they believe will be the busiest market of the year.

Jim McColgan, Chairman of RAPID said; ‘the collective involvement of a range of local organisations, businesses, individuals, government bodies, and traders have contributed significantly to the success of the market and as such must be highly recognised and appreciated. However a big part of the success has been the funding received under the Leader+ programme – which exists to develop small rural based producers and businesses – and the impact of this funding needs to be recognised.”

“Moreover, by attracting consumers to the City Centre also provides spin-off financial and multiplying benefits to other city traders as well as contributing to local economic development, job creation and sustainability.

Our expectations are such that the momentum created by the positiveness of the initiative will continue to grow and develop in the interests of the vibrant commercial environment of both our urban and rural communities." He added

Ends

For further information contact Una Cooper @ RAPID on 028 7133 7149 or e-mail una@rapidni.com

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