A three-year project to increase the volume of produce from the South East into the London foodservice and public sector through New Covent Garden Market is being put together by the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) and the South East Food Group Partnership (SEFGP).
The initiative will be part funded by the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA), and its input will be matched by the CGMA.
A dedicated team member will be recruited to work on the project.
The move aims to promote New Covent Garden as a distribution hub for product from the South East, to quantify the demand for products from the region, to forge closer links between producers and wholesalers, to establish links with local schools and to explore the potential for a speciality outlet for South East products on the market.
Helen Evans at CGMA told FPJ: “We want to recruit one full-time person to work on the SEEDA-funded project three days a week, and on another project, which will see the creation of food clusters - business networks for companies broadly involved in the same sector - on the market.
“We are looking for someone who understands the industry.”
The move comes as New Covent Garden continues on its redevelopment strategy.
“The redevelopment of the market is not just a phyical thing,” Evans said. “ It’s also about the way business is done and looking at the opportunities are out there.”
New Covent Garden houses the largest concentration of catering distributors in the UK, and is home to Re:fresh Foodservice Supplier of the Year Chef’s Connection.
SEFGP and SEEDA are committed to supporting a sustainable farming and food sector that contributes to a better environment and healthy environment and prosperous communities.
The project fits within the scope of the London Food Strategy.
