North East produce to be celebrated at new food and drink market heading to Sunderland city centre

Sunderland BID and Sunderland City Council have collaborated to bring the Local Heroes Pop Up Food Market to the city centre between 10am - 4pm on Saturday (October 22).

The event – which will see traders selling fresh and locally-sourced produce – will take place at Sunniside Gardens, providing an opportunity for shoppers to pick up something a little bit different on their visit to the city centre.

Sharon Appleby, chief executive of Sunderland BID, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing a fantastic market to Sunniside Gardens, providing an opportunity for people to pick up some delicious treats and fresh produce from North East traders and artisans.

“Sunniside is a beautiful part of the city, that has an increasingly vibrant independent offer, so we’re pleased to be organising an event that will showcase the area, as well as enhancing and adding to the great places permanently based here.”

The Local Heroes Pop Up Food Market has been organised by Food & Drink North East, supported by Sunderland City Council as part of its packed programme of events this autumn and winter.

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of the city council, said: “We’re pleased to be welcoming Food & Drink North East’s Local Heroes Pop Up Market to the city.

“We have some brilliant existing businesses in the city centre, but we’re always working with partners like the BID to look at more ways to bring people into the heart of Sunderland, and we know that pop up events and markets like this one are very popular with residents and visitors alike.”

Among the traders will be a selection of street food vendors, including vegan and healthier options.

Chris Jewitt, Founder and CEO of from Food & Drink North East said: “We are looking forward to coming to Sunderland, bringing traders from across the region and providing people from and visiting Sunderland an opportunity to celebrate our thriving food and drink economy, support local business and enjoy the outstanding produce on our doorstep."

He added: “We have some stellar traders from Sunderland and across the wider North East and we love nothing more than using our pop up market concept to provide them with new routes to market via different customers and locations. We’re looking forward to seeing them serve up something special to the people of Sunderland.”