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Keep in touch with the Food Alliance Blog - sign up here Follow on Instagram here, Facebook here Here's where you can see what's happening for good local food in Herefordshire. From local food events, through farming to food waste - we use the Sustainable Food Places topics so you can see the things you're interested in at a glance. Click on each one for more information or scroll down the most recent. Contact us to tell us what's going on in your part of the County and sign the food charter to add your voice! |
Sharing two articles and a petition from our friends across the border - in some aspects we are in a similar national picture to them, but their potential solutions have differences. What could we take from their campaign here in Herefordshire?
"Some of you may be aware of Our Food 1200 ( OF1200) which has been energetically campaigning for over a year to shift the volume of local sourced horticulture being grown by smallholders locally. Initially the focus was on Bannau Brecheiniog National Park (BBNP), and Monmouthshire. This has now extended to include Powys.
The 1200 figure in the title was an aim to create 1200 acres of horticulture within Monmouthshire and BBNP. (Calculated for the level of veg needed for the population)
Many complex barriers are currently preventing growth in small holder horticulture:
- Govt farming subsidies exclusion
- Planning policy on rural enterprise dwelling
- Access to suitably serviced land
- Potential legal constraints on County Farms.
Two major articles have been published on the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) Agenda online written by directors of OF1200. Here are the links.
"Why are we surrounded by thousands of acres of green fields suitable for growing fruit and veg while having a waiting list of experienced farmers unable to access any of it?"
https://www.iwa.wales/agenda/2023/06/how-wales-gets-its-food-back-fruit-and-veg-farming/i
"We call for action on two fronts. First, we make the case that Government must let small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers live in a real home on the land they’re working, and stop expecting them to live and raise children in caravans. Second, we call on Councils to repurpose County farms into thriving small-farm enterprise hubs, producing high-quality food for local people, creating jobs, enhancing local wellbeing, and potentially generating more income for them than the current single tenancy system."
https://www.iwa.wales/agenda/2023/06/getting-back-our-food-let-there-be-farms/
If you empathise with the cases being made, please sign the petition to the Senedd (link below) asking for WG to reconsider the agricultural subsidy rules that currently exclude smallholder horticulture from subsidy.
Time is of the essence since WG are under huge pressure to bring in the new regime of subsidies for farmers, post Brexit. So please act and send to your other networks to add to the petition."
FIRST voluteer session on the new site: 21st June! More info below.
The next BIG EAT at the Kindle centre is on 24th June, this theme is Refugee Week with a 'feast from across the globe'
And they have welcomed their new Head Grower, Katie
Get on the newsletter to keep up with the many things going on.
From the Ledbury Food Group:
"The Ledbury Food Group is staging the Ledbury Celebration - our "intimate" festival of local food with added poetry, music and heritage - on Sunday 9th July at St Katherine's in Ledbury Town Centre between 11am and 4pm in partnership with Ledbury Poetry and Ledbury Town Council.
We expect 20 to 25 food stalls with a mix of local food producers and eclectic mix of local street-food providers. A programme of poetry and music will run through the afternoon to keep people at the event.
We still have room for a couple more local (non-street food) producers at the event. It's a good place for those starting out to get food show experience.
Contact us at
Penrhos Spirits have won an award for their locally produced spirit...
https://www.penrhosspirits.co.uk/penrhos-wonky-raspberry-wins-gin-guide-award
"Our spirits use ingredients carefully grown by us or that are local to our distillery, foraged, found or farmed. Our gin achieved one of the highest judging scores in its category. With hundreds of entries from over 35 countries in the Awards this year, it is an incredible achievement that requires consistently high scores from the Judges across the key characteristics of your gin."
Has your locally produce, sustainable product won an award? Let us know!
Putting Life into the Soil: Llangarron. Thurs 15th June 19.30-21.00 pm
Local Regenerative Farmer Regen Ben at The Garron Centre, Llangarron. Putting life into the soil not taking it out. Please book at
Water Security in a Changing Climate - Ross on Wye, Tuesday 11th July 1pm.
Securing and Sustaining a resilient supply for your farm. The Mill Race, Walford, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5QS 1.00pm, Book on Eventbrite
Landworkers Alliance
Midlands are hosting an event (with Lou Aphramor of Agroecology Dept, Coventry University)looking at food choices, balancing the decisions we make around what we want, what we should eat - and what's good for the planet and other people.
Monday 26th June 6pm online
"How do we make sense of food values when public health message emphasise nutrients? Are you sometimes uneasy with your own food choices? However absurd we find the binary of good/bad and healthy/unhealthy it can still impact how we think and feel about food, health and our bodies.
As well as supporting the Food Alliance with funding, the Public Health Team work closely with the Food Alliance - Kristen is part of the steering team.
The team has now won an award at the West Midlands Public Health Awards for work on sustainable food!
Kristen says:
“It was fantastic for our partnership to be recognised for all their hard work on this project. The challenges around food are obviously massive. But we can all do our bit. Buying fresh food from a farmers’ market puts money back into the local economy. Meal planning, growing your own, buying ‘wonky’ veg and in-season produce can reduce food waste, be better for the environment and benefit our health.”
This is a win for good partnership working with stong commitment from all areas of food interest around the county. Next up, the Bronze Award for Herefordshire!
Saturday 10th June 2023 11-4pm
Drinks, savoury and sweet - over 40 local producers will be at the fair including Peter Cooks, food charter signees :)
If you're heading there, please encourage stalls and individuals to sign up to the food charter - so we can build these events and build trade for local sustainable food
"Free entry to all. Meet up to 40 local food and drink producers; sample and buy the produce and enjoy a variety of food and drink such as a Hog Roast, Pizza and delicious homemade cake with tea or coffee, all on site. Local beer and wines available to sample and purchase. Stalls covering three marquees, inside the Hall and in the open air grassed area. Dogs allowed (except in Hall)."
The Herefordshire Food Alliance (that's us all!) is now fully linked to the County's Climate and Nature Partnership Board. We're represented on the food subgroup, and talking to the land use subgroup too.
The partnership board is a set of people from different organisations and backgrounds with expertise and knowledge through their roles in conservation, wildlife, architecture, farming, the media, community energy, research, land management, agricultural policy and running businesses. We are working to get Herefordshire to net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Food is one part of this big task, and -we'd say - linked to all the other parts too, spanning waste and land and much more. Well keep making the connections! All the actions we take will be connected - and heading towards a sustainable food places bronze award too.
If you can see other ways that we can join up what's going on in Herefordshire, please get in touch.
Keep in touch with the Herefordshire Food Alliance Blog - sign up here
From local food events, through farming to food waste - we use the Sustainable Food Places topics so you can see the things you're interested in at a glance.
Contact us to tell us what's going on in your part of the County and sign the food charter to add your voice!
Food highlights of the four day Caplor event include some local sustainable food providers on Tuesday 6th June, and agricultural talks on 7th June.
More details of each event here
"Caplor Energy, is excited to announce a four-day public event celebrating “100 years @ Caplor”.
The event will take place from the 5 to the 8 of June 2023
Tuesday 6 June – Caplor Energy and Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire present a “Herefordshire Showcase” with a local artisan market, crafts, activities and competitions.
Wednesday 7th June – Agricultural Event
A opportunity for the rural community in Herefordshire to come together, hear from industry experts and find out about renewable energy solutions designed by farmers for farmers.
SUNDAY 28TH MAY - 10am to 4pm
BELMONT WANDERERS AWARDS & FUN DAY @ The Belmont Wanderers Football Pitches
"Growing Local attended this event last year and are back again this year, it’s a really special day celebrating all the amazing players, teams and work Belmont Wanderers do - we are proud to be their project partners! Lots of stalls, food, drinks and football mayhem. Look out for our green information gazebo and come and talk to us about the Southside project and Growing Local Gardens plans. Regular Walks & Talks of the new site, seed kit giveaways and more.
More info about the Southside and Growing Local Gardens project can be read here.
"People are recognizing that connection, both to others and to Nature, is the true wellspring of happiness. In almost every country, farmers’ markets, permaculture, community co-ops, local finance and business alliances, place-based education and nature reconnection testify to this great shift in values. In these ways, people are already sowing the seeds for a very different future, and demonstrating the way forward, towards a localised future. "
What do you think this means for the work that's already happening in YOUR part of Herefordshire? How does this fit with ideas of procurement, gathering together local producers to increase demand and supply of local food?
Could you head to this talk on Zoom, and come back and talk to the Food Alliance about it?
Helena Norberg-Hodge is the founder and director of the international non-profit organisation, Local Futures, a pioneer of the new economy movement, and the convenor of World Localisation Day.
Book tickets here
Do you have experience and energy in local sustainable food? Steering, Sub-Group Volunteers and Partners please!
Our next Food Alliance 6-weekly steering team meeting is on Tuesday at 1.30pm. This time Matt Pearce of Public Health will talk through his report featuring food and we'll be chatting through all the actions we've achieved (and what we need to do) towards the Bronze Award for Herefordshire through Sustainable Food Places. Plus hearing from all the steering group partners about what they've been up to.
Today Pat and Lou from Growing Local signed the Southside Funding Agreement to release the Stronger Hereford Towns Fund, towards their part in this project - including a market garden and a cook school. "A monumental move forward for ourselves and our project partners Belmont Wanderers and NMITE. Two and a half years of work and we are finally at this very significant day! I think it’s fair to say we’ll be out celebrating tonight!"
A Market Garden and Cook School for Hereford is on the way!
https://growinglocal.org.uk/the-growing-local-summer-newsletter/
Here's Martin Lines, chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network's thoughts on the Food Summit hosted by the Prime Minister and DEFRA this week:
"The last 18 months have highlighted the fragility of our food system, which has lurched from one crisis to another. With extortionate input costs, weather extremes and soaring food prices, it’s been a challenging period, to say the very least. What can’t be ignored in conversations about food security is how these circumstances lock heads at the same intersection: climate change, nature loss and dietary ill-health.
We'll be at Ledbury Community Day during Greener Footprints / Big Green Week - What are you up to?
"📣 Mark your calendars & get ready - just 3 weeks to go until the Greener Footprints Week in Herefordshire, as part of #GreatBigGreenWeek! 💚
This national celebration of community action encourages people across the UK to host events and activities in their local area to tackle climate change and protect nature.
Would you like to get involved? It’s not too late to plan an event in your community or business:
Simply click the link to check out some ideas for inspiration, and don’t forget to let us know so we can help you to publicise your event and reach maximum visibility - https://buff.ly/3Ol0EIo
10th – 18th JUNE "
If you're not already, get informed about the farming methods that provide solutions to rivers, support biodiversity and build better communities - get stuck into Nature Friendly Farming Week's webinars!
"Join us in celebrating our annual Nature Friendly Farming Week 15th - 19th May. Join our webinars and follow along on social media as we shine a spotlight on #WhoFarmedYourFood"
Daily themes:
- Monday – What is nature-friendly farming?
- Tuesday – Species-rich Grasslands
- Wednesday – Soil
- Thursday – The Farm Ecosystem
- Friday – Slow the Flow
book webinars here
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/nature-friendly-farming-week-2023-2150039
The Public Health Annual Report for Herefordshire is out - and it's BIG on food.
Working in partnership is right there at the top of the key ingredients, and that's what the Alliance is all about. Building as many bridges and connections as we can so that we find solutions that work for farmers, for household budgets, for the environment, for our local economy.
The Public Health team funds part of the Food Alliance coordinator post so the goals have real support for us to make these bridges and connections. We pop up on page 7, and many alliance partners do too in the rest of the report with great stories of the work towards sustainable food for all in Herefordshire.
Read the whole report here.
A big wave to the many new signatory organisations on the Herefordshire Food Charter - pledging to grow / source / choose sustainable local food.
Bartestree Village Stores - their local suppliers list includes another signee Peter Cooks Bread
Denim Nation UK and School Uniform Shop ethical clothing
West Midlands Grain Network - we'd love to hear where we can buy from your members!
Drapers Lane Deli in Leominster
Goytree Glamping and Treehouses (also working to restore organic farmland)
Wye Organic local seasonal organic produce
From Growing Local:
"This Saturday it’s our Big Spanish Eat @ The Kindle Centre #hereford
Come along and help cook a delicioso Spanish feast
Doors open at 10am, come along any time
Lunch around 1pm
All welcome: cooks, washer-uppers, servers - or just come along to chat & eat
