Ludlow Food Social Enterprise Expanding

  

 

Started in 2010, Grow Cook Share has had a massive impact on Ludlow and Craven Arms with more people than ever growing and cooking their own food from scratch. Now thanks to a massive £4500 donation from the Ludlow Food Festival the future of this 4-year project looks bright.

Beth Health, Operations Director for the Ludlow Food Festival said: “Grow Cook Share has made a real impact on the community and their stand at the festivals is always really popular.  As organisers of the festival we believe passionately in local food and you can’t really get more local than a project like this so its important to support it in a way that will help it continue.”

The donation will be used to upgrade the ovens in a number of locations used for the Grow Cook Share catering project, including the Rockspring Centre, Ludlow and the Craven Arms Community Centre amongst others.

Valerie Meehan from Grow Cook Share said: “Grow Cook Share was initially a four year Lottery and LEADER funded project which has been incredibly successful.  As a result, we will be launching a food based sustainable social enterprise later this year. This will offer local people opportunities to access training, personal development, work experience and employment within the food sector, with a particular focus on young people who are currently unemployed or underemployed.  The donation from the Food Festival means we can invest in new equipment which will really help us in this venture.”

Grow Cook Share supports people in Ludlow and Craven Arms to grow and cook their own food from scratch and to share their skills knowledge and excess garden produce with their local community.

The group offers free cookery courses and gardening activities through their network of paid staff and volunteers in order to support the local community to get growing and cooking from scratch in their homes, schools and community spaces. 

For further information about Grow Cook Share please visit http://www.ludlow21.org.uk/grow-cook-share/ 

Bags of Help From Food Festival Donation

The Shrewsbury Food Bank has received a much welcome cash boost after the Ludlow Food Festival donated £700 to the organisation; meaning volunteers can help more individuals and families in need this year. 

Kaye Baker from the food bank said: “This donation has made a massive difference to us and we can’t thank the food festival enough.  There is often a misconception in a town like ours that people are not or should not be struggling, but they are.  Personal circumstances can change very quickly and we offer a vital service and advice to help individuals and families through difficult times.”

The food bank distributes more than 100 bags of food each week and its estimated that the donation from Ludlow Food Festival has helped feed 35 people alone.

Beth Heath, Operations Director of the food festival said: “Working with the community has always been at the heart of the food festival and each year we support a number of charities.  The festival also works with local colleges, community schemes and young people. We were very humbled to see the work that Kaye and all the other volunteers do at the food bank and had no hesitation in making this donation.”

The food bank which has been running for over 15 years has 20 volunteers who give up their time to collect sort, pack and distribute bags of food on a weekly basis.

The food bank provides assistance for one to four weeks depending on circumstances.  Run from Barnabas Community Church in Longden Coleham, a second distribution point also runs out of the Hope Church Centre in the North of the town.

Items distributed include food, household items, baby supplies and pet food.  The food bank is extremely grateful for donations be it money or goods and you can drop off any food or household supplies at Barnabas Church and several supermarkets and other churches around the town.

For further details of the food bank and how to donate please visit http://www.barnabascommunitychurch.com/basicsbank.htm or call 01743 343336.

Apley Walled Garden Tour

Apley Walled Garden Tour

• Venue: Apley Farm Shop
• Date: Tuesday 01 April 2014
• Time: 10am - 12noon 

Apley Farm Shop
Norton
Shifnal
TF11 9EFwww.apleywalledgarden.co.uk

Apley Walled Garden Tours offer the opportunity to come & look around the walled gardens which supply Apley Farm Shop with its produce. The garden has many old varieties of produce which are rarely seen, Head Gardener, Phil Allen will speak about the different varieties, the best ways to grow & cook them. The tour starts at 10am, meeting in the Farm Shop, ending roughly at 12noon. £5 per person. Contact details: 07746 01 30 50 or headgardener@apleyestate.com
www.apleywalledgarden.co.uk

Volunteers wanted to help reduce waste in Shropshire

Volunteers wanted to help reduce waste

Local volunteer group Shropshire Master Composters on are on the look out for volunteers from Shropshire & Telford & Wrekin who want to help work to reduce waste in their area.  Volunteers work closely with the local authorities in their local communities to promote home composting, waste prevention and recycling - http://www.shropshirecomposters.co.uk/

Volunteers are offered high quality training and support and in return they give their time without payment to do a variety of community events, talks, demonstrations, school visits, public outreach programmes and publicity work all aimed at helping us getting people to raise awareness and ultimately to waste less.

As a volunteer you will receive free training in home composting and related environmental issues provided by Garden Organic (formerly HDRA). The initial foundation training course will be held on Saturday 29^th March 2014 at the Shropshire Wildlife Trust in Shrewsbury.   

The course has been arranged by Shropshire Council, Telford & Wrekin Council and local waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services.  The training is delivered by composting experts from the national horticultural charity Garden Organic. 

Since its inception in 2006, we have trained over 100 volunteers who have gone on to give more than 10,000 hours of their time promoting home composting to tens of thousands of people around the county.

Who can become a Master Composter?

·         Anyone over the age of 18 can become a Master Composter; you don’t need to be an expert composter already or have any volunteer or community group experience.

·         All trainees get a Master Composter resource pack and will be offered a follow up visit to a local composting site and further visits to Garden Organic Gardens in Coventry as well as local study tours and workshops to develop their expertise following the course.

·         Once the training has been completed, you will be expected to spend at least 30 hours (around 4 days work) over the following year promoting home composting as a volunteer (i.e. not as part of a paid position).

·         As a Master Composter you will receive free training, free resources and travel expenses to help you do your work sponsored by Veolia.

·         Becoming a Master Composter is a great way to meet new people, learn valuable skills, and benefit from being part of a team that makes a difference.

If you are interested in becoming a Master Composter please email james.thompson@shropshire.gov.uk or call us on 01743 255989.

Have a flipping good pancake day...

With food prices spiraling, pancake day is another chance to learn how to make ends meet.

Shrove Tuesday is traditionally a day to use up all the leftovers you have tucked away at the back of cupboards or lingering in the fridge at home to make a pancake before Lent.

But it’s also a good opportunity to have a flipping good time making something cheap and tasty - which in these days of spiraling food prices is no bad thing. 

One idea to make your money go even further is to try and make a pancake with leftovers for example bananas that have gone a bit black and speckled are still perfectly edible, especially if you mash them u. 

Why not try this recipe to use up any ripe bananas: Mushy banana and sour cream pancakes

For more information on pancake recipes and tips to help make the most of your food visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.  

Remember for any kitchen waste you cant eat such as lemon skins, and egg shells, you can compost them at home.  For more information on home composting visit www.shropshire.getcomposting.com 

Lambing Event near Oswestry

Half Term Lamb Feeding

Date:  Saturday 8th March 2014  and Sunday 9th March 2014

Price: £7.95

 

Address:

Park Hall Countryside Experience
Burma Rd
Oswestry
Shropshire
SY11 4AS

 

Look out for volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters promoting home composting at this event near Oswestry. 

Lamb Feeding starts from 10 am. Experience the delight of bottle feeding lambs. This activity runs twice daily during half term. All the usual farm activities running each day too. Lamb feeding will continue until early summer. See website for details

01691 671123

www.parkhallfarm.co.uk