Island celebrates local produce at Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival 2021
19/09/21More than 10,000 people sampled the delicious creations of more than 70 local producers at the Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival this weekend.
The family-friendly event, sponsored by PokerStars, showcased a range of great tasting food and drink from artisan breads to unique ice lollies.
The action-packed programme also included a variety of cooking demonstrations, talks, food eating competitions and live music in the Villa Marina Gardens.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, who organise the annual celebration, said:
'We are absolutely delighted that so many people took this fantastic opportunity to find out more about local produce and its journey to their glasses and plates.
'Buying local benefits the local economy and environment, as it supports jobs and can reduce food miles, packaging and waste.'
New to the festival, Isle of Man Salt Co was crowned ‘Best Stand’ competition winners, with The Fynoderee Distillery taking second place and Red Mie Farm awarded third place.
DEFA’s Food Matters strategy aims to grow the Island’s food industry by £50m over 10 years in a sustainable, profitable and increasingly collaborative way, so the food supply chain meets the needs of customers who are increasingly conscious of provenance and traceability.
Sustainability was again a key theme with a new section featuring local businesses active in this area, sponsored by Zurich International. Traders were again prohibited from using certain single-use plastics and visitors were encouraged to bring their own bags and reusable water bottles.
Over the weekend 100kg of recycling was collected from stations dotted around the festival.
Sustainability plays a major part in the Isle of Man Government’s commitment to significantly reduce plastic consumption in line with its climate change goals, and the Climate Change Action Plan Phase One.
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