North Yorkshire County Council’s Economic Development Unit is playing a key role supporting the development and promotion of local produce in the County.

Its ‘Support for Local Produce’ project, jointly funded by Yorkshire Forward through the North Yorkshire - Developing Opportunities for a Rural County - Single Regeneration Budget (Round 6) Programme and through the EU INTERREG URBAL programme until December 2006, consists of a range of activities designed to help North Yorkshire’s local producers develop new markets for their products:-

• By providing opportunities for producers to showcase product at a countryfair in Heino, Holland.
• By supporting the organisation and promotion of two new major local produce events in North Yorkshire:-

• In October 2004, over 4,000 people attended the Skipton Local Produce Festival which featured 100 local food, drink, arts and crafts producers. The URBAL programme also provided support for the Festival held in October 2005 when it was rebranded as ‘Autumn Feast’.
• In May 2005, over 9,500 people attended the Ryedale Festival of Food and Drink at Castle Howard which featured 63 local food and drink exhibitors. As a result of this success, plans for the Ryedale Festival of Food and Drink 2006 are well underway.
• Guest producers from Norway and Holland enhanced both events and brought with them a range of products including local cheese, beer and meat products.
• By providing funding support for local produce features at existing North Yorkshire events such as The Dales Festival of Food and Drink, The North Yorkshire County Show, The Masham Yorkshire Day Festival, The Kilnsey Show, The Gargrave Show, The Malham Show and The York Festival of Food and Drink.
• By contributing to the organisation and promotion of three public procurement workshops.
• By contributing to the organisation and promotion of a Meet the Producer event.
• By providing funding support for five inward and six outward export meat trade missions.
• By producing a leaflet promoting the benefits of buying local produce including details of farmers’ markets held throughout North Yorkshire.
• By offering a grant scheme for local producers to improve/upgrade their production processes.
• And last but not least, by supporting the development of this North Yorkshire local producers website!!!

More information about the URBAL project can be found at: www.urbaldevelopment.com

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