News Date: Monday 11th June 2007
Tim Teams Up with Gary Lineker to Shout About Markets
East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton has teamed up with football legend Gary Lineker to highlight the importance of markets like Shoreham Farmers' Market. Gary, the son of a market trader, and Tim are both backing National Markets Week, which will kick off on Monday June 18.
The Week, organised by the All Party Group on the Markets Industry, is designed to highlight the importance of markets in strengthening communities and providing healthy food at cheap prices. The last decade has seen a steady growth in niche markets: farmers' market, craft markets, Christmas markets and French and German markets. Last Saturday Tim visited the special Adur Festival Farmers' Market with his family and spoke to traders and sampled local produce.
Gary Lineker, the former England captain, who used to help his dad out on Leicester market, commented:
"Market traders are some of the most hard working men and women in the country. Many people depend on markets for their livelihoods. I am very pleased to support the markets industry and would like to see more young people entering the trade.
"Some people are so used to driving to supermarkets that they do not realise what a wonderful asset they have on their doorsteps - in the heart of their community - to get their five portions of fruit and vegetables a day."
Tim commented:
"Research carried out for the National Market Traders Federation in 2005 showed that goods brought on the nations traditional and historic markets can be up to 27 cent - or up to ?10 per shop cheaper - compared to prices at Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain. In some individual cases, savings per item were found to exceed 50 per cent.
"Markets also make local town centres more vibrant. They strengthen communities and encourage people to eat healthy, local food, which is often cheaper than the supermarkets.
"In addition markets benefit the environment by contributing to a reduction in "food miles" and unnecessary and wasteful packaging of food.
