A Yorkshire food event has generated more than 1000 meetings between producers and buyers in a bid to develop more regional products.

The meet-the-buyer-event, organised by the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber, saw 91 producers and 35 buyers come together last month (30 April) to talk about regional produce.

The event was designed to let producers meet buyers, including Waitrose, Asda and the National Trust, who were looking for new suppliers to meet growing consumer demand for regional produce.

The event, part of a Regional Food Group initiative with Yorkshire Forward, generated more than £1.6m for the region's producers when it was held last year.

Among the previous year's successes were Paynes Dairies, who secured a £1m deal to supply Richmond Ice Cream, and Yorvale Ice Cream, who agreed a contract to supply the National Trust.

Jonathan Knight, Regional Food Group chief executive, said he hoped this year's event would bring even more money to the region's food producers.

"Regional sourcing is a key issue and the success of the day indicated that food sourced from Yorkshire and Humber has wide appeal with consumers," he added.

Most producers usually take several months to agree contracts with suppliers following the event, but the day has already had its first success, a Regional Food Group spokeswoman said.

"We usually measure the results of the day at three months, but the rapeseed oil from Wharfe Valley Farms was on the tables of a local country house two days after the event," she said.