SOMERSET FOOD TRAIL
CELEBRATING THE BEST OF LOCAL, SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED FOOD AND DRINK
FEASTING GALORE – THE 2023 FESTIVAL
After the ‘roaring success’, of the 2022 Somerset Food Festival, we had even more amazing food adventures in 2023. More than 170 venues put on 385 events for the 2023 Festival, including a series of around 40 fabulous 30-mile feasts highlighting the best of local sustainably produced veg and grassfed meat.
We tasted wines, cider and cheeses, toured farms and smallholdings, explored eateries and farm shops, and discovered regenerative producers across the county, from the Chew Valley to Wedmore and Wiveliscombe to Crewkerne. Despite the atrocious weather for part of the Food Trail, which led to the cancellation of some events, the festival was voted a tremendous success by participants.
Some key stats from the 2023 Food Trail:
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170 participating enterprises took part
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385 events organised
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7,500 unique visitors to the website
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91% of website visitors were new. Most were from the UK but we also had visitors from 39 countries, including the US, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Germany and Ireland.
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Coverage in 33 media outlets, with an estimated 93,800 views including BBC Radio Somerset, The Times, Delicious magazine, Organic Farming magazine, Great British Life, Independent, various national magazines and key local media
Thank you to everyone who took part and to all of our visitors for joining in! We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our sponsors and volunteers for making the Food Trail happen. While the 2023 Food Trail is finished, please continue to support and celebrate local, sustainable producers whenever you can.
"Participating in the Food Trail made a significant difference to our farm and farm shop, providing the opportunity to show people the difference that farming organically makes to the environment and animal welfare"
– Rob Walrond, organic farmer, Glebe Farm
A GUIDE TO 2023 HIGHLIGHTS
FOOD TRAIL DIGESTS
Get an idea of what was happening in the 2023 Food Trail by checking out the newsletters we sent out during the Trail, which provide a 'digest' of key events coming up.
OUR 2022 SPONSORS
OUR 2023 PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS
We owe a special thanks to our project partners and supporters:
THE PIG - NEAR BATH
A hotel and popular restaurant, THE PIG - near Bath is big on sustainability. We especially like their commitment to source at least 80% of the food that they serve from within a 25 mile radius of the hotel, including their own extensive kitchen gardens. As such they support a number of the producers represented on this year's Trail. We look forward to a day when 'local first' and 'sustainable only' is common policy, not just in upmarket eateries and hotels but in hospitals and schools as well.
SOMERSET TOWN COUNCIL
Generous sponsors of the Trail for the last two years, committed to supporting the transition to more sustainable farming and food. They also host the annual SCOP Climate Conference for parish leaders in Somerset.
![Green Scythe Fair logo[24873].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/72b7c5_bce0586547dd43b8a1097233cb13549b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_226,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Green%20Scythe%20Fair%20logo%5B24873%5D.jpg)
LANGPORT TOWN COUNCIL
Langport Council has kindly supported us two years in a row, and have taken their commitment to local food to the next level this year by launching the monthly Langport Local Market. They're also behind Totally Locally Langport's 'Magic Tenner week', a great way to get the 'buy local' message out there to boost the local economy.
THE GREEN SCYTHE FAIR
The Green Scythe Fair is a magical one day environmental fair in a beautiful setting on the Somerset Levels run entirely by volunteers. A highlight in the calendar!
The Somerset Food Trail is organised by Sustainable Food Somerset.
