The Countryside Agency is supporting national Farmers' Market Month and encouraging people to visit their local farmers' market as a way of supporting rural areas through the foot and mouth crisis.
Countryside Agency Archive

Breadcrumbs

Retail therapy can be good for you and for the countryside - 31 August 2001

If you're looking for a way to help out rural areas which have been devastated by foot and mouth this month, get out and shop at your local farmers' market. This is the message from the Countryside Agency's chairman Ewen Cameron following the publication this week of a report which shows how the rural economy has been devastated by the disease.

The time for visiting a farmers' market has never been better as the National Association of Farmers' Markets, supported by the Countryside Agency, is kicking off a month-long national celebration of farmers' markets this coming weekend. People can find out details of the series of high profile events and wide variety of markets occurring throughout the month by visiting www.farmersmarkets.net or by writing to the National Association of Farmers' Markets, South Vaults, Green Park Station, Bath BA1 1JB. Farmers' Market Month is being launched this Sunday (2nd September) at Islington farmers' market.

Ewen Cameron said: "The report we published this week has shown that all parts of the rural economy are interdependent and have been devastated by foot and mouth. People want to know how they can help. By choosing farm products, especially from the areas worst affected, they can 'eat the view' and help sustain rural communities. 

"Visiting and shopping at your local farmers' market is a great, enjoyable way to do this. You can buy goods that are produced locally and talk to stall-holders about how they were made and where they come from, as well as making sure your money goes back into the local rural economy. You will be surprised by the range and diversity of food and drink on offer. Indeed some of the produce available at farmers' markets might not be found anywhere else in the world and in effect you'll be able to sample the unique tastes of your local landscape."

The Countryside Agency is supporting the initiative through its Eat the View programme, which aims to make it easier for consumers to buy, and farmers to sell, sustainably produced local goods and to help consumers make the links between the produce they buy and the countryside they love.

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Notes to editors

The Countryside Agency is responsible for advising government and taking action on issues affecting the social, economic and environmental well-being of the English countryside. 

The National Association of Farmers' Markets was set up in 1999 and is a not-for-profit organisation. It aims to promote farmers' markets and help its members to retain their standards and integrity in order to preserve the social, environmental and economic benefits that farmers' markets bring. http://www.farmersmarkets.net