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Locally produced meat, cheese, honey, preserves, bread, organic veg and fish brought fresh from Whitby
... just some of the
produce available at the Farmers Market in Headingley. The market is open every
second Saturday of the month from 9.00 til 12.30 on the Rose Garden on North
Lane and will give the people of Headingley and beyond an opportunity to buy
high quality provisions direct from the grower or producer.
The market is an initiative
of Headingley Development Trust (HDT), a social enterprise set up to use
business approaches to revitalise Headingley for the people of Headingley. With
over 700 local members, it saw the market meeting a need for a better variety of
food and supporting local Yorkshire producers.
“The range of shops in
Headingley has declined dreadfully over the past 20 years. We have an excellent
greengrocers and great wholefood shop, but we have no butchers, nowhere to buy
Yorkshire cheese or Yorkshire wet fish and seafood, or locally sourced honey,
jams or baked good”, said Helen Seymour and Rachel Harkess, two of the
organising group and HDT directors. “We think the market will help to revitalise
Headingley and the existing shops. All research from farmers’ markets across the
country shows there is increased footfall for other traders when the market is
on”.
The market is small – just
8-12 stalls - but the organisers invite stallholders whose produce people have
said they want, determined by its local market research. Therefore the market
sticks mainly to food, all sold by the producers themselves. “And we want to
stick as far as possible to the “rules” for real farmers markets in that all
produce must come from within 50 miles of Headingley and, where possible, within
30 miles. In certain instances, due to supply constraints (like seafood!) this
requirement may be waived up to a maximum of 100 miles”, say the organisers.
There is huge enthusiasm
for the venture, not just from the people of Headingley. The local authority
councillors and officers have been very supportive indeed and sponsorship has
been obtained from Leeds Co-operative Society. "Leeds Co-operative is very
pleased to support such a good grass-roots initiative. After all the Co-op has
always been passionate about people "doing it for themselves" and about good
quality food", said Alan Gill, chief executive. |
