Newell Stores '“ supporting Northway, supporting local

Locally produced strawberries offer an unrivalled burst of flavour so make sure you look out for them on your shop shelves to guarantee you are buying 100% local produce while it’s available.

You will find Northway Grown Strawberries on the shelves of Newell Stores based in Dungannon and Coalisland, the family run supermarkets that are genuinely committed to offering the very best of fresh, local produce to its customers, as well as to making sure it supports local farmers and growers.

Resident grocer Paul McAdam is known for sourcing only the very best produce for both stores and it speaks volumes that he has chosen Northway Grown strawberries for the third consecutive season.

Speaking about the continuing relationship with Northway, Paul McAdam said: “The Newell Stores fruit and vegetable department prides itself on offering a wealth of local produce and I hand pick only the very best for our counters and customers. The reason I look out for a locally produced strawberry is primarily for the superb taste and flavour they offer - this just cannot be emulated by imported product. Working with Northway means we get regular deliveries of fresh, sweet and local strawberries that our customers love and appreciate.

“At times, in the past, we have had to rely on imported product solely to ensure that we had a strawberry offer available for customers. However, since I’ve started working with Northway, we’ve really benefited from the Producer Organisation’s planned production and collaborative growing practices with their six grower members. Week on week there is a reliable supply of Northway grown produce made available for both Newell Stores Dungannon and Coalisland.”

Northway, based in Blackwatertown, is a business that has been established specifically to support the work and effort of local produce farmers, who rely on the continued support of retailers such as Newell Stores and their Grocers to supply their member’s produce to market.

Northway’s strawberry growers are all Northern Ireland based, operating and contributing to the local economy, employment and continued sustainability efforts.

Northway’s largest strawberry grower, Foxberry Fruit Farm in Derrytrasna, Lurgan, is run by Northway’s growers - brothers Philip and Aaron Fox and the farm regularly supply strawberries to Northway destined for Newell Stores.

Speaking of working with Northway the brothers commented: “Working with Northway allows us to focus on growing really top quality strawberries for our customers. Northern Ireland Strawberries are of an excellent quality and it is a shame, given the historical lack of supply, that Northern Ireland customers and consumers have had to rely on strawberry supply from overseas. We work with Northway and it’s five other strawberry growers to offer retailers a steady, secure and reliable supply of top quality, local product - ALL of which is grown right here in Northern Ireland.”

Elaine Shaw, CEO of Northway, went on to say: “Given our collective investment in time and planning, it can be disheartening for all of us to see imported strawberries on shop shelves at the height of our local growing season, being promoted as part of a ‘Buy Local’ Campaign just because they are distributed locally.

“When we say 100% local, or when you see the Northway Grown Logo on produce, it means the strawberries marketed by Northway are grown, picked, packed and distributed in Northern Ireland – Northway Grown is always local. Furthermore, Northway Grown produce is Red Tractor Quality assured and packed and distributed from a Northern Ireland accredited facility.”

As a result of these developments by Northway and its members, Northway Grown Strawberries will be in a store near you this summer - just look out for the logo or like Northway Grown on Facebook for a full listing of all retailers supporting the Northway Support Local campaign this season.

NEXT WEEK: Read more about how DSP Supermarket Group are also supporting Northway Support Local this summer by stocking Northway Grown Strawberries across it’s Eurospar, Spar, JC Stewart and Vivo Xtra Stores in Northern Ireland.

If you are interested in stocking Northway Grown Strawberries please contact Elaine Shaw at Northway (028) 37 54 9370 today.