Squire’s Frensham Awarded ‘UK Garden Centre Food Hall of the Year’
Squire’s Garden Centres Frensham Food Hall has won a prestigious industry award this week at the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) annual conference, receiving the award for the ‘Garden Centre UK Food Hall/Farm Shop of the Year’ 2023.
A new category in this year’s awards, it has been introduced to recognise the importance of offering an alternative to supermarkets as well as promoting locally produced items across a wide product range, supporting sustainability and reducing food miles too.
Squire’s garden centre in Frensham celebrated the fifth anniversary of its ownership by Squire’s in 2023 and in this time the Food Hall has received a complete refurbishment and gone from strength to strength. The Food Hall proudly includes a range of locally produced and artisan food and drink products, an extensive cheese counter and expert butchers. Re-opening shortly before lockdown, it was visited by the then HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO (Duchess of Edinburgh) in September 2020, when restrictions eased. The Countess paid the Frensham Food Hall a visit as part of a tour of Surrey Hills producers and retailers to experience first-hand their ‘field to fork’ collaborations as well as highlighting the importance of local food production.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “We are absolutely delighted our Frensham Food Hall has been recognised by our industry inspectors at the GCA as the ‘Best Food Hall’ in the Garden Centre category and against nationwide competition too. We are proud of the role our Food Hall plays in the local community we serve. Supporting the community and amazing local produce is really important to us and we are honoured to have been recognised for this.”
In addition, Squire’s Hersham was presented with the ‘Garden Centre UK Plant Retailer of the Year’ Award, with Squire’s Woking awarded third place in the category and Squire’s Wokingham recognised in the top ten line-up too following GCA Inspector visits. The GCA Awards also saw Squire’s Frensham, Washington and Woking presented with joint third award in the ‘Garden Centre Outdoor Living’ Award category.
PHOTO: above – Sarah Squire (Chairman, Squire’s Garden Centres), centre, presenting the ‘Food Hall of the Year’ Award 2023 to the Squire’s Frensham Food Hall team.
