Seven years on and the Fodder philosophy remains as strong as ever.
The brainchild of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, Fodder, the award winning local food hall and café, based on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, has grown not only in size but also in the number of suppliers it supports – now over 350.
“We had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve from the outset,” said Heather Parry, Managing Director. “That vision hasn’t changed, our aim is to connect consumers with the best quality food and drink; thus supporting Yorkshire farmers and food producers. I am proud to say that we are working daily to achieve this and it has been a thoroughly rewarding seven years” she continued.
Since its launch in 2009, Fodder has seen food trends come and go and the importance of knowing your suppliers well through events such as the horse meat scandal. “Our customers know we can trace our products fully and they trust us,” commented General Manager, Jane Thornber. “Our message to support local is very important to us, particularly our campaign for local dairy farmers.”
Fodder set the standard by refusing to pay our dairy farmers less, as most did, when the milk price plummeted. We appreciate fresh, local milk and we understand that dairy farmers need to make a fair income in order to continue, we currently pay farmers 10p per litre more than the national average. The milk battle continues and it is no coincidence that the product chosen to highlight our seventh birthday is the white stuff. “We want to keep dairy farmers in the headlines and thank our customers for buying 19% more milk from Fodder last year; thus helping to ensure a sustainable existence for Yorkshire dairy farmers.”
The photo shows 120 two litre bottles of Dales Dairies Milk, forming a figure 7 on the sedum roof at Fodder.
To celebrate, Fodder will be giving tractor biscuits to customers who visit them today, Friday 17th June (while stocks last). Attached to each tractor is a label explaining Fodder’s relationship with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, all of the profit made from Fodder goes to fund the work of this registered, rural charity.