News Morrisons puts more Yorkshire food on customers' plates

The supermarket first announced the search for more local food and drink makers in February after research found that Yorkshire customers want to see more food and drink made and produced ‘just down the road’ from their communities.

Morrisons is already British farming’s biggest single customer and the company has made sourcing more local food a priority, to reduce the distance food travels, support local communities and respond to regional tastes.

75 Yorkshire suppliers applied to take part in Morrisons local foodmakers programme and the top 20 were then invited to the event at Keighley Town Hall, West Yorkshire where they met Morrisons customers, buyers and the local WI.

Now, the first three local food and drink makers have been selected to be listed in stores around Yorkshire . They are:

• Masons Gin - will enter 133 Morrisons stores from 19th June
• Grandma Wild’s Biscuits - will enter all Yorkshire stores from 26th June
• Parrs Foods - will enter all Yorkshire stores from 3rd July

Earlier this month, Sheffield dairy farm Our Cow Molly also entered three local Morrisons stores.

The local businesses will be stocked alongside Yorkshire products already ranged in Morrisons such as, Wakefield Rhubarb, Bradford parkin and Yorkshire ham.

Danny Clee, Local Solutions Manager for Yorkshire said: “Morrisons is a Yorkshire business with over 20,000 colleagues in Yorkshire. Our customers tell us they want to see more local food and drink produced in our stores and this programme aims to do just that.

“At our event in Keighley in March, we saw a great range of Yorkshire products and are delighted to welcome the first of our new local suppliers to our stores this week.”

Morrisons are expected to announce more successful Yorkshire suppliers as part of the programme later this year.

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For further information and requests for images, please contact Rachel Kennedy at Morrisons press office on 0845 611 4575 or at rachel.a.kennedy@morrisonsplc.co.uk