Matt Reed talks about new food app on BBC Radio Gloucestershire

Matt Reed was interviewed on the Kate Clark BBC Radio Gloucestershire programme yesterday (25th February) about the newly launched local food app, ‘MiLarder’. (Listen from 47:00 – 52:40).

He explained how the CCRI have promoted the benefits of local food for many years and how they have worked with Marco Della Gala from the University of Calabria for the past two years with European funding to develop the app, which is free to download from Smartphones. To get the app, simply go to your Smartphone app store, type in ‘MiLarder’ and it will come up as a free download.

The app  will automatically work out where you are located and answer all your questions about where to find local food and producers. It will let you research information on local products and tell them where they can find them, search the different local food sources in your area, for example farmers’ markets, farms, box schemes, community supported agriculture, food hubs and pick your own, and provide further details, such as description, distance and opening times.

Matt told listeners that the app has been launched with hundreds of local producers already included on the app, but invited all local food producers not yet on the app to register and insert their information on the app, which will allow them to connect with both existing and potential future customers.  Thus, they can spread the word about their products via the app and update their own data, such as who they are, their production methods, and at which farmers’ markets they can be found and on which days. They can advertise special promotions, update information on their products and use photos to demonstrate them.

Consumers can also find information regarding which farmers are attending a farmers’ market and what products will be available. Information on special events, promotions and other related news can be found on the app and consumers can tell other app users about their local food experiences.

This is the perfect app for people who want to know where their food comes from. By chance, Matt’s radio interview was followed by an interview with Matthew Rymer, Founder and Director of Happerley, a Gloucestershire based organisation whose aim is to empower the consumer to know the journey of their food and who are challenging people to consume only food which they know where it has come from for 7 days from 26th February to 4th March. MiLarder is the perfect app to help people meet that challenge!

The app can be downloaded via the following links:

Apple iTunes

Google Play

Two video tutorials explaining all the functionalities provided to both consumers and producers are available on the following links: