THE first Welsh food ‘App’ and the first ever App to be in both English and Welsh languages has been launched by Minister of Rural Affairs, Elin Jones AM.
This groundbreaking hi-tech food tourism approach has been developed by Mid Wales Local Food Talks, the campaign which promotes and supports food producers and tourism providers.
Intended for use by both tourists and tourism providers, the new App, already being dubbed the ‘WApp’, is free to all users and pinpoints all 235 food producers across Mid Wales. It includes the following features:
* A built-in GPS pinpoints the location of the closest food producers to wherever you are
* Full details of and products for every food and drink producer and their weblinks
* It specifies True Taste winners and Organic producers
* A full ‘search and find’ facility by location and/or by product type
Available via the i-phone ‘Apps’ store, it is called ‘Mid Wales Food & Drink’ or ‘Bwyd a Diod Canolbarth Cymru’. There are plans to roll out the resource to other mobile phone platforms later this year. I
f it proves successful, The Mid Wales Local Food Talks campaign also hopes to develop the service to include restaurants, hotels, B&B’s and other food tourism providers who offer locally sourced foods in mid Wales.
Mid Wales Local Food Talks has also re-developed and upgraded its website (www.localfoodtalks.co.uk) which now includes many new features including:
* The new online food producer map and search facility – by product and by area
* All events listings – farmers markets, food festivals, trade events
* News and features of the latest food tourism developments
* Video and DVD downloads – business and customer service tips
* A new blog – to encourage interaction across the food tourism community
Elin Jones commented, ”This is a positive step forward for Mid Wales food and drink, offering two new and easy ways to find the best food and drink producers the region has to offer. We have such a natural abundance in Wales and now it is literally available at our fingertips.”