Visitors to Wimbledon will enjoy strawberries with a difference this year as they tuck into UK berries grown with sustainable practices in mind. Leaf (Linking Environment and Farming) will be showcasing its LEAF marque initiative, a pioneering scheme covering a range of fruit, veg and salads.

LEAF chief executive Caroline Drummond said: 'For some time our farmers have been producing food to LEAF standards but now, through the LEAF marque, consumers can consciously choose to buy this quality food, giving the farmers the support and recognition they deserve.' John Foley, head buyer of fruit, vegetables and horticulture at Waitrose said: 'We are backing the LEAF Marque because it gives our customers the assurance they want. They will know food carrying the marque has been produced to the highest environmental standards. Increasingly, consumers are demanding to see the environmental credentials of the food they buy and the LEAF Marque does just this.

'There are many growers out there who have been growing in this way without recognition and we've taken a bold step forward by putting a logo on a product. There's not one homogeneous customer out there ? consumers are interested in a range of concerns, but if you grow purely for price and volume, you will sacrifice flavour.' Marion Regan, managing director of Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent who will be supplying strawberries for Wimbledon added: 'We have always aimed to farm in an environmentally responsible way, enhancing the conservation and wildlife value of the farm, while meeting our customers' needs for fresh, flavoursome and eye-catching soft fruit. The LEAF marque is a new way to involve the team here and to recognise their achievements.'

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