A NEW initiative introduced during Fairtrade Fortnight has raised more than £200 for Christian Aid.

The Fairtrade fair and shoppers' lunches held in All Saints Parish Hall on the two Fridays during the fortnight attracted around 50 people to enjoy food made with either local or fairly traded ingredients. The money raised will be sent to Christian Aid for its work supporting local goods co-operatives in the developing world.

The lunches were provided by Just Living, a small group in the Okehampton area committed to Christian principles of social justice. They donated the food and their time so that all the money raised could go straight to Christian Aid.

The group's leader David Muir said: 'We were really encouraged that so many people came for lunch, especially as this is the first time we have done it.

'We would love to do more of this kind of thing, but we can only do so much ourselves. We would love to hear from others who would join us and help us extend our work.'

The group were at the monthly farmers' market on Saturday selling Palestinian farm foods and a small selection of other fairtrade foods hard to come by in shops.