Windsor Farmers’ Market is good for the environment and the local economy as residents shop for quality food, according to a survey at the July market. This showed that 50% of customers walk to the market, and nearly 75% of customers said that they were also shopping in St Leonard’s Road. 

Our next market on Saturday 6 August includes a barbecue demonstration by local chef Jason Woods, who will take the pain out of the summer sizzling.

 “ Pink chicken and burnt sausages are out, and tender marinated steaks and colourful vegetable kebabs are in, “ says Jason, who recently graduated from the prestigious Ecole de Cuisine at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire.

Windsor Farmers’ Market is nearing the end of a six-month trial, and Windsor & Eton Town Partnership is consulting local residents and St. Leonard’s Road shopkeepers before a report goes to Cabinet on 25 August.

Cllr David Eglise, Chairman Windsor & Eton Town Partnership said: "The Farmers’ Market adds to the diversity of shopping in Windsor and provides a valuable boost to our local economy. Shoppers now have opportunities to buy quality, wholesome local produce direct from the producers." 

Diane Harker, who organises the market on behalf of Thames Valley Farmers’ Market Co-operative, added: “ Our survey showed that 75% of customers spend between £10 and £30 at the market. Using the New Economics Foundation’s local multiplier tool, this is worth between £25 and £75 to the local economy.” 

Research at Windsor shows that:

• 84% of customers come for the quality of the food

• 81% want to support local producers

• 87% stay between 15 and 45 minutes to do their shopping

• 99.9% want to see the Farmers’ Market a permanent fixture at St Leonard’s Road. One respondent said the road closure was inconvenient.

The most popular produce is fruit and vegetables. Sharing second place in popularity are meat and eggs, and bread and pastries.

Further information:

• Diane Harker, Windsor Farmers’ Market organiser: 01628 670272

• Wendy Tobitt PR for BBO Food Groups: 0774 864 1452

Thames Valley Farmers’ Market Co-operative (TVFMC) supports local farmers, small producers and market organisers in the three counties of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. TVFMC is a not-for-profit organisation and is affiliated to FARMA, which accredits Farmers’ Markets to ensure quality standards are maintained. The Thames Valley has an abundance of natural resources available for farmers and producers. Trout and watercress are local specialities, as well as award winning meats and cheeses. Since the first farmers' market in 1999 it has grown to 21 towns across the Thames Valley. More information is available at the TVFMC website www.tvfm.org.uk.

Windsor and Eton Town Partnership is a public and private sector venture supported by locally based businesses and organisations and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It supports the commercial sector within Windsor and Eton, ranging from small family-run firms to major international companies, including Centrica and Legoland, to ensure that Windsor and Eton remain pleasant places to live and work.

New Economics Foundation
New Economics Foundation (nef) compared the multiplier effects of shopping for fruit and vegetables in a supermarket and from a local organic 'box scheme' (a fixed-price box of fruit and vegetables delivered to subscribers' doorsteps each week). The results showed that every £10 spent with the box scheme was worth £25 for the local area, compared with just £14 when the same amount was spent in a supermarket.

Tim Boyde spent two months tracking the finances of a Cornish vegetable box scheme, Cusgarne Organics, based near Truro. He followed the box scheme's expenditure to see exactly where it was spent; in particular how much of it was spent within a 15-mile radius of the business. He then also monitored where that money was spent at the next level of spending and so on. He discovered that the organic box scheme spent significantly more money locally than the supermarket and that this extra income to the area was then reinvested many times over by the other people who received it in the area.