Buy local! Seek out 'Made In Grimsby' GG products to back our businesses

BACK the GG!

As part of the Bounce Back campaign, we are encouraging you to get behind Grimsby's vital food industry.

While many aspects of the sector rise to the challenge and benefit as people seek out value and revert to traditional meals, Europe's Food Town has not been immune to the economic downturn.

The biggest loss was the 530 jobs across Mariner Foods' dual site, but there have been others on a smaller scale as already increased energy prices and tighter margins meant there was little room to move when demand dropped.

However, it's not all doom and gloom. We have seen Five Star Fish's expansion start to be realised, which will create 100 jobs, and the likes of Young's smashing the £200-million sales mark for frozen.

Look out for the GG mark on packaging which identifies food produced in Grimsby, such as this example.

And one of the brightest developments has been the turnaround of Coldwater Seafood, which – on the day Bounce Back was launched last week – was sending lorries laden with the first batch of 11 new lines to Asda depots around Britain.

So how do we give them a helping hand? Simply seek Grimsby products out in the chillers and freezers of your supermarket.

It really is so simple, they are even badged up for you.

While Young's – the biggest seafood brand – is easy to spot with the distinctive logo, all chilled pre-packed or frozen food carries the GG mark – as shown here.

So whether the product has Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Marks and Spencer, Asda or Iceland on the front, you can be sure you are helping the local economy by flipping it over before deciding whether to putting it in your trolley.

David Robinson, economic development officer for North East Lincolnshire, with responsibility for the seafood industry, said: "The GG mark is simple to find and an effective way of supporting our excellent food industry, and in these economic times it is more important than ever."

Steve Norton, chief executive of Grimsby Fish Merchants' Association, said: "If we are buying chilled pre-packed or frozen seafood then look for the GG mark. These are positive things people can do that will help one another and the local economy.

"We know Grimsby is the centre of seafood processing for the UK – 80 per cent of the nation's seafood is processed in Grimsby, which is really good. If we are buying fresh fish, be it in a supermarket, in a fish and chip shop or a restaurant, species like cod and haddock, would have originated in Iceland, but there is a greater than fair chance it will have been processed in Grimsby."

And why stop at seafood? Mr Norton said: "Buy local wherever possible, and not just food. There are all sorts of goods and services that we don't have to go far for.

"I would urge people not only to use large multiple high street retailers, but look at the markets too. There are Top Town and Freeman Street markets. They are very good places to buy fruit and vegetables, and certainly in the case of the latter, products that have come down the road from Grainthorpe, Marshchapel and Boston. Not only are we putting money back into the local economy but it all means less air miles and a smaller carbon footprint."