Naturally good food! (From Penarth Times)

Naturally good food!

THE freshness of locally-produced foods, the traditional market atmosphere and the coming together of producer and customer all explain the success of the Vale Farmers' Market since its launch in April 2000.

So says the chairman of the association behind the venture.

The market, which is set up in the grounds of Westbourne School in Penarth on the third Saturday of every month, attracts well over 30 stalls and in 2001 was declared the best in Wales by the National Farmers' Union.

The market opens for business from 10am to 1pm. Farmer Norman Jenkins, chairman of the Vale Producers' Association, said: "I think what our customers value is the freshness of the produce.

"For instance, the mushrooms you buy at the market will have been picked the evening before or even the same morning. You can't get much fresher than that.

"At our market you are talking directly to the person who produced what you are buying. "People enjoy the banter and personal service you get at our market as opposed to the clinical-nature of a supermarket," he added.

"You'll also get plenty of advice on how to cook and prepare foods from the farmers and their wives."

The market also visits Cowbridge on the first Saturday of every month and St Fagan's Museum of Welsh Life on the fourth. The market is also regularly set up in Barry on Kings Square. All of the produce on sale comes directly from the farm and much of what is on sale is produced within the Vale of Glamorgan or other nearby areas in South Wales.

Meats on offer include lamb, venison, organic bacon, sausages and pork, wild boar and poultry.