As the recession bites ever deeper, how are quality food retailers coping?
'The Food Programme’ re-visits some of the finalists from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Four’s Food and Farming Awards to find out how they’ve been affected.
Sheila Dillon visits John Geldard, at Plumgarths Food Retail Park in Cumbria which was shortlisted for the Best Retail Initiative in 2008. John developed The Hub, a delivery system linking large numbers of small food producers to the local Asda supermarket. Mike Walsh, of Strawberry Bank Liqueurs and Paul Harrison, butcher at Plumgarths Farm Shop are amongst his tenants.
Sheila Dillon is joined in the studio by Robert Clark, retail analyst and one of the judges in last year’s ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Four's Food and Farming Awards and Natalie Berg, Grocery Research Manager at Planet Retail, which provides news, information and analysis of the global retail market.
Sheila Dillon visits Rob Alderson and Debbie Clark, at Unicorn Grocery in Chorlton in Manchester. It’s a co-operative venture that was joint winner of the Best Local Food Retailer Award.
Reporter Margaret Collins visits the other joint winner of the Best Local Food Retailer Award, the Spar Shop inÌýPwllheli, ÌýNorth Wales and speaks to owner Conrad Davies.
|
Presenting The Food ProgrammeÌýhas been Sheila's perfect job.