The Make It Worcestershire campaign has been developed by One Worcestershire and the Worcestershire Food and Drink Association to promote local produce.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused heavy disruption to many industries, with one of the main areas impacted being the food and drink sector. Worcestershire has a plethora of producers and outlet shops and this new campaign aims to showcase and celebrate local produce to shoppers both digitally and in physical stores.

Richard Soper CBE, from One Worcestershire, said: “ Worcestershire is a fantastic county full of great local organisations with unique and special food and drink products on offer. We want to support these companies and help promote their produce to those inside and outside of Worcestershire. We are working to help shine a light on some of the talented producers we have located in our county.”

Nick Hodgetts, Chair of Worcestershire Food and Drink Association, said: “We are delighted to be involved with this campaign, many Members of Worcestershire Food  and Drink (CIC ) have been badly affected by the restrictions of the past few months, and anything that supports the recovery and encourages the public to enjoy and experiment with local produce is sure to have a positive impact on the whole community ‘Love Local for Life not just Lockdown’.’’

Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of Worcestershire LEP, said: “ The past few months have been difficult for many organisations and those in the Food and Drink sector have been some of the hardest hit. The Worcestershire LEP is proud to support this new campaign and promote the value of shopping with your local business, whilst also encouraging visitors to visit the county and experience all which it has to offer . These are key steps to help increase footfall and spending to get our local economy moving again. ”

Initially 20 organisations have pledged to be involved within the campaign and going forward there is a growing opportunity to get more local food and drink organisations into the campaign to have their shop, farm or products promoted.

The campaign was launched at local farm shop Bell’s, based in Stourport, where it was confirmed that 5 companies would be going one step further in displaying the campaign logo on their produce.

The campaign will also have a heavy social media presence, advertising great locations to go and experience some Worcestershire produce. There will also be various competitions taking place within the campaign which will be announced over the next few months.

To follow and join the social media campaign, use the hashtag #MakeItWorcs

For more information about the Make It Worcestershire campaign and for how to get involved, visit the One Worcestershire website, http://www.oneworcestershire.com/makeitworcs