The Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) will bring together local producers, London wholesalers and distributors, and the catering industry for a ‘Celebration of Local Food’ open day and conference at New Covent Garden Market (NCGM).

The event aims to connect all the links in the food chain to increase the profile of local food in London, as part of the British Food Fortnight, on October 3. NCGM is the UK’s premier wholesale market for fresh produce and also houses the largest concentration of catering distributors in the country.

The open day is part of a three-year project between the CGMA and the South East Food Group Partnership (SEFGP), with funding from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), to get more local food on the capital’s plates via wholesalers and catering distributors based at the market. The day will see a renewed drive for the market to source more produce from its surrounding regions.

The day starts at 7.00am with a tour of the market for producers to see at first hand how it works. After breakfast producers from the South East and East Anglia will showcase local seasonal ingredients for wholesalers, distributors and chefs to sample and discuss.

The conference - ‘Share to Supply’ - run by English Farming and Food Partnerships (EFFP) looks at the opportunities for supplying local food to London and the South East. Speakers will include Jenny Jones, chair of London Food Board. The conference will showcase a number of examples where producers are already successfully working together to supply the public and food service sectors and will provide practical advice on initiating such ventures.