Foodies across the region have spent just short of £1million on East Anglian produce as part of an annual event encouraging people to shop locally.

The Sourced Locally Fortnight, held by the East of England Co-op, is also known as the ‘feast from the East’. It is designed to encourage shoppers to support local businesses by making smart swaps in the supermarket.

More than 57,000 punnets of local strawberries and over 10,000 bunches of asparagus were sold during the fortnight – which comes as the East of England Co-op celebrates 150 years in business.

Roger Grosvenor, joint chief executive at the East of England Co-op, commented: “Swapping one thing in your basket for something local is a no brainer, as we are so lucky to have great-tasting, fresh food on our doorsteps.

“It has been wonderful to see our customers make an extra effort to shop local and support the region’s economy during Sourced Locally Fortnight this year.”