New shop at hackney city farm e2
Hackney City Farm is opening a shop later this month, to take the strain off its inundated farm office, which has been handling the sale of the farm’s eggs. It will be open all day from Wednesday to Sunday. Shoppers can expect chicken and duck eggs from the farm, bread from the E5 bakehouse, honey from beehives on the roofs of the farm buildings, and farm manure for gardens. Armed with a bag you can dig veg right out of the ground yourself. Other seasonal veg will be provided by Sarah Green Organics.
Good Food Guide to Camden
A ‘good food’ guide for the London Borough of Camden is hot off the press, outlining how and where organisations can obtain healthy and sustainable food in the area. Written in conjunction with Sustain, the guide contains a handy yet large directory of local suppliers, a wall chart explaining what different food logos mean, the Marine Stewardship Council’s Good Fish guide, and a calendar to help you identify what foods are in season at different times of the year. To request a hard copy please contact the Better Climate for Camden Team on 020 7974 6756 or better.climate@camden.gov.uk.To download your free copy of the guide, visit the website below.
Sunday Pie Club N10
Marika Gauci has been running an impressive range of cookery classes from her home kitchen since 2009. Her pie-making class was so popular, she now organises a monthly Sunday pie club from a professional bakery in Muswell Hill. No longer do you have to fear the kitchen quandary of pastry-making! Marika will teach you how to make savoury meat and vegetarian pies as well as sweet tarts in a relaxed and fun environment, with a maximum of 12 people per class. Some classes are themed, like the forthcoming Halloween pumpkin pie club, and Marika only uses the best, local ingredients, buying organic produce wherever possible. Book early to avoid disappointment at London’s only pie-making club!
Low carbon veg SM6
Initial research conducted by Cranfield University has found that 27 per cent of Sutton’s Veg Van customers are now eating more fruit and veg, every £1 spent at the Veg Van generates £2.60 for the local economy (compared to £1.40 if spent at the local supermarket), and the van is saving around 16kg of carbon dioxide a month through reducing customer car trips. The Veg Van is now looking for part-time volunteers in return for free veg, great experience and community benefit. The people behind the Veg Van are also involved in Sutton Community Farm (See the Jellied Eel issue 28) who are running a permaculture weekend course on 30–31October, at £80 for two days (concessions available).
Café relax E14
Café Relax, the Tower Hamlets community café set up last year (with the help of London Food Link and London Sustainability Exchange) to inspire and enable local people to eat more healthily, is launching a new initiative in conjunction with the Well London health project. The café will be showcasing recipes at Well London’s ‘cook and eat’ courses, and linking with local volunteer group the Well London delivery team, to help with marketing the café. It also plans to use the food co-op set up by Well London for buying ingredients. Café Relax already promotes local, seasonal, healthy eating, and has developed a programme of activity with local growing schemes. And its efforts seem to be working: in a survey last year, 77 per cent of respondents agreed the café had helped them make healthier eating choices.
Subscribe to the farm, not just the food N8
Church Farm in Ardeley, 30 miles outside of London, has set up a new box scheme. It aims to do more than deliver groceries, and wants to build a genuine relationship between customers and producers. It is planning inductions to the farm, including farm participation days, and large discounts for customers on farm courses. Boxes can be tailored to suit a household’s needs – different quantities of fruit, vegetables, meat and staples can be selected. At the moment the pick-up point is in Crouch End near the clock tower, and with further subscriptions more will be possible (potential sites include Archway, Muswell Hill and Tower Hamlets).
FoodLovers Market W1
Launched in summer 2010, FoodLovers’ first market in Soho is preparing for winter. The market specialises in fresh, seasonal, and artisanal food from London, the UK and Europe. This autumn sees a number of special events, including a Halloween-themed market on 30 October, with dressing up (mainly for kids), face painting, apple dunking, and pumpkin-carving demos. December markets will include events on chocolate, treats from abroad, and on the 18th a last opportunity for stocking up on Christmas goodies. FoodLovers Market is open every Saturday from 10am to 5pm.
