Following on from the huge success of the local food producers tent at last year’s Athlone Agri Show, this year’s committee are delighted to announce the expansion of the Made in the Midlands Food Village at this year’s show, which takes place on Sunday June 24 in Moydrum.
Additional producers are invited to attend, and an even greater selection of high quality ready-to-eat and take home produce will be on display. Last year’s tent accommodated local producers such as The Fatted Calf from Glasson, Mossfield Farm from Birr, Meadowsweet Apiaries from Ballinahown, Derryvilla Blueberry Farm from Portarlington, Greenergy Foods from Mount Temple, A Slice of Life Restaurant from Athlone, Bridgefield Farm Ice-Cream, Hillside Farm Organic Meats from Taughmaconnell and many more.
Last year’s show marked the inauguration of the Food Village. There had been much demand from visitors and local producers alike to include a local food producers element to the extremely popular annual show.
The Food Village houses stalls displaying produce from all over the Midlands as well as produce from local eateries.
Food production is a growing area in Ireland and we are fast becoming recognised for our high quality meat, dairy, and artisan products. The Food Village allows local producers and suppliers to meet directly with their customer, relay the benefits of their products, and hopefully encourage shoppers to support Irish business.
Chairman of Athlone Agri Show, David Fenton, says, “We are delighted to build on the success of last year’s Made in the Midlands local food producers tent. It has become apparent during this economic recession that our strengths in this country lie in the agricultural food sector and this is something we need to build both locally and nationally.”
Lynda McFarland – organiser, local nutritionist, and chef – works with producers and restaurants to improve the nutritional content of their products: “More and more people want to choose high quality local foods, they want to speak to the producer to see how their product is made and what the health benefits are. The Made in the Midlands Food Village offers a platform for local producers to display their produce and speak directly to their customers about production methods, health benefits, etc,” she says.
If you are a local food producer producing a high quality product and would like to attend this year’s show please contact Lynda on (087 ) 7927471 or email [email protected].
