Food directory’s ready for launch

Jun 11 2009 by George Topp, Hamilton Advertiser

SOME of the best quality food and drink producers from the Clyde Valley will be at the launch of a new food directory for South Lanarkshire.

Eat – The guide to food and drink in the Clyde Valley – will be launched at South Lanarkshire Council’s HQ in Banqueting Hall, Almada St, Hamilton, on Monday, June 15.

As well as celebrating the launch of the food directory, retail and trade food buyers have also been invited along to meet the local producers and to find out more about the story behind their products. Buying local is becoming increasingly important to consumers and can be driven by a desire for quality, originality, a concern for the environment, or a will to invest in our own local businesses and communities.

The event will showcase a number of producers, from across South Lanarkshire, including Ramsay of Carluke, Simple Simon pies, Carmichael Estate Farm Meats, Damn Delicious, Strathaven Ales, and Johnstones Bakers.

Chairman of South Lanarkshire Council’s Enterprise Resources Committee, Chris Thompson, said: “Now more than ever we are aware of the need for a healthy diet, to eat fresher and more seasonal produce, help save the environment, lower our carbon footprint, lower food miles - all against the backdrop of a current economic downturn. “We hope the showcase and the guide will inform and encourage buyers to do business locally.

“It is also aimed at providing information to challenge the perception that we either don’t have the produce locally or the prices are not competitive.

“The reality is that both food buyers and the general public may not know about the quality produce that is right on their doorstep.”

South Lanarkshire Council set up an initiative to try to identify who was producing local food in the area, who was buying the food locally, who wasn’t, and why not.

In conjunction with Scottish Agricultural College, the project organised workshops with producers and food businesses.

The aim was to identify reasons why there was not more local trade and also assessed the potential for working together. Councillor Thompson added: “The showcase and guide comprises producers who have taken part in the project and they are being referred to as the Clyde Valley Food Network.

“The network is in its very early stages at present and we hope to build on this in the near future with further events, and encourage other producers and processors on board.”

Patrick Hughes, senior food marketing consultant with SAC Consulting, said: “The showcase event presents a unique opportunity to experience and taste the wonderful and diverse fare available throughout the region.

“If any prospective buyers are unaware of the array of delicious products and dedicated producers available locally, now’s the time to challenge those misconceptions.”