Producers and allied industry representatives are being urged to gather at an Aldi store in Hessle in East Yorkshire on Thursday morning for the next #BiteIntoBritish promotion.
The Aldi event is a follow-up to an event at a Tesco store in Leeds in January that saw campaigners engage with hundreds of consumers and generated significant publicity for the campaign.
It will follow a similar format, with campaigners explaining to Aldi shoppers the many reasons to back British pig producers and the wider farming industry, including the high welfare standards, the low environmental footprint, the great taste – and supporting struggling pig farmers who are currently fighting for their survival.
Yorkshire producer Anna Longthorp will provide a hog roast on the day, and there is already been plenty of media interest.
- Meet at Aldi, Hessle Henry Boot Way HU4 7DY for a 10am start with an end time of 2pm.
“This is all about a positive promotion to highlight the #biteintobritish social media campaign that is ongoing and, my word, we really do need it right now,” said Hugh Crabtree, the NPA’s vice chairman.
“We would like to see as many people as possible, producers and allied industry, turning up to spread the message.
“We will continue to get our message across to the media, talk to shoppers and of course, provide producer participants with an opportunity to do something positive and chat to others to share some of the burden they’re all under. That is a really important part of all this.”
Aldi has been shown to be a good supporter of British pork producers, as highlighted in the latest Porkwatch survey, which showed it stocked 100% British pork and British sausage and 85% British ham. It has also showed up well in the NPA’s #PorkReport campaign.
“When talking to the press, the group’s spokepersons will be pointing out that Aldi has a 100% British policy for pork, unlike some of their competitors in the retail environment, one or two of which need to step up to the plate urgently and take a lesson from the likes of Aldi.”
With pig producers struggling to get through the next few months after a massive hike in their feed costs due to the Ukraine war, following more than a year of heavy losses already, Hugh stressed that this was also about food security.
The NPA has written to all retailers asking them to increase the price they pay for their pork to above £2/kg so pig producers can at least break even.
“Feed for Pigs provides Food for Us. Sky-rocketing cereal prices could mean pigs go hungry if feed suppliers simply cannot deliver to farms that are under extreme financial pressure,” Hugh said.
“This is another reason why we need to see retailers and their discerning customers backing British and local food production. So let’s get the message out there!”