Local food, local outlets, local customers
Nick Herbert MP and Neil Carmichael visit the highly successful family business “Frocester Fayre”, located between Stroud and Dursley
Neil Carmichael, Parliamentary Candidate for Stroud, and Nick Herbert MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, visited the Frocester Fayre Farm Shop, established in 2000 and run by the Hawkins family who have been farming in Frocester since 1895.
Frocester Fayre source all the pork and beef from their own farm and the lamb is also produced in Frocester, equidistant from Stroud and Dursley. The cattle are Welsh Black and Aberdeen Angus and all of the animals benefit from land in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
Neil Carmichael commented, “Frocester Fayre is an excellent example of what our “Honest Food” campaign is all about. We want customers to be able to know exactly where their food comes from.
Neil added, “Research into some products in supermarkets has indentified that Tesco chicken dinners - ‘produced in the UK’ - use chicken from Thailand; Marks and Spencer’s corned beef sandwiches emblazoned with the Union flag use meat from Brazil; and goods from the Birdseye ‘Great British Menu’ range are made with imported meat. At Frocester Fayre, there is no doubt about where the products come from.”
Nick Herbert MP was very impressed with the businesses at the Hawkins family farm as twelve people are now employed either in the Farm Shop or the adjacent ground care business. He also noted that Frocester Fayre make full use of Farmers Markets.
Nick Herbert said, “I am delighted to have visited Frocester Fayre and I want to thank John Hawkins and his family for showing me around their successful and impressive businesses.”
Picture: Nick Herbert MP, John Hawkins and Neil Carmichael highlighting the “Honest Food” campaign. (Click on picture for a larger version)
Tags: Frocester, Honest Food
