Celebrate 14 years of The Real Food Market with £5 offers

One of Manchester’s best loved foodie establishments, The Real Food Market, is celebrating another successful year of trading with an appetising array of £5 deals.

Food lovers across the North West have long been attracted to the twice-monthly fresh produce market in Piccadilly Gardens, which supply top quality and locally sourced foods in a traditional open-air shopping experience.

For the past 14 years the market has gone from strength to strength and to celebrate their most recent milestone, traders will offer a mouth-watering mix of bargains to lure the taste buds of even the foodiest of foodies.

To mark the event, from Friday 24 February each Real Food Market trader will adorn their stalls with special bargain blackboards where traders can display their individual deceals for that day.

Different bargains might be available each time the market returns to Piccadilly Gardens so be sure to return each fortnight for fresh offers -  and head down early as deals will only be available while stocks last!

Some early highlights include:

Strawberry Gardens offer shoppers five punnets for £5 on their wide range of fruit - from grapes and strawberries to apples and pears - the cheapest way to get your five-a-day.

Lunch-timers can make the most of a tempting selection of meal deals including Baron Bruchard's £5 soup and a pitta offer or for an end of the week treat why not Lakeland Picnic's drink and burger deal?

Those with a sweeter tooth can treat themselves to a saving on four cones of sweets for £5 from traditional confectioner Andy Lever or a box of macaroons from English Rose Bakery - with a choice of 10 delicious flavours, including salted caramel and pistachio.

Each trader will use their bargain blackboards throughout the year promoting different deals, but will put them to use for the first time on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 February between 10am and 5.30pm.

Councillor Paul Andrews, executive member for neighbourhood services, said: "The fact that the market has lasted this long, growing in popularity every year, is a testament to the quality of the trader's produce and Manchester's love of fresh, quality food. The Real Food Market is a great way of getting back to the traditional way of shopping - outside, meeting your trader and getting to know the produce.

"Markets like this are vital in supporting local and smaller businesses, but they also complement the high street perfectly - giving shoppers the option between brand retailers and independent stalls that ensures our city centre is exciting and a real draw to visitors."

For more than a decade the Real Food Market - formally the Farmers and Producers Market - has been supporting small businesses and local farms by giving them the opportunity to trade their homegrown, homemade and home-reared produce in the city centre and on to Manchester's plates.

Retailers across the city are also being given a boost this month through the Manchester Loves February campaign, giving businesses the opportunity to unite together and promote a wide range of bargains - from shops and restaurants to accommodation and transport - to support the high street at this difficult economic time.

For more information please visit: www.manchester.gov.uk/markets and www.visitmanchester.com/feb