This week, I had the pleasure of co-hosting a West Suffolk Food Fair in Parliament. As a Member of Parliament, you are always looking for ways to best support and promote your constituency. By hosting a food fair showcasing food and drink, home grown and produced in Suffolk, I want to show our London capital not only what is great about Suffolk, but why Suffolk produce should be considered amongst the best. East Anglian food, drink and agriculture are thriving sectors. Employing around 118,000 people and providing 16% of all jobs within the region, our farming produce is worth around £3.5 billion a year. Yet, despite supplying a quarter of all of England’s table chickens and producing 288 million litres of milk a year, neither Suffolk, Norfolk or the region on the whole, has yet to be recognised solely for one standout produce. In other words, the eastern equivalent of the Melton Mowbray pork pies. Yet the diversity of East Anglia’s produce is what makes us unique. Showcasing at the West Suffolk Food Fair we had leading products from Dalehead Foods specialising in pork production, of which the region is the second largest provider. On the other hand, we had a selection of multi award winning homemade ice creams from Alder Carr Farm, home-grown and handmade in Suffolk and showcasing the work of just one farm. I wanted to celebrate all of the great food we have to offer, and with the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in attendance, we did just that. Yet, whether you are a local baker or a global producer like Greene King, the aims must be the same; to support and to grow your business. With such a rich crop of producers and providers to choose from, Suffolk in particular has a real breadth of business to boast. By bringing these providers together into one showcasing event, working together we can boost support for our local businesses. Whether the region finds its own protected named produce is yet to be seen. I for one am proud of our region’s agricultural diversity and will continue to promote it and our fantastic producers. With now one outstanding event under our belts, it’s on to planning the next one to be bigger and better than before; with so many exceptional regional producers to choose from. Published in the East Anglian Daily Times
