Bristol's Local Food Update: July
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BRISTOL FOOD NETWORK Bristol’s local food update community news · courses · conferences · events july–august 2011 The Government have commissioned Mary Portas to head-up an independent review of the future of the High Street. The review will seek out ways to help develop more prosperous and diverse local shopping areas. Here in Bristol, many people are already working on alternative ways forward. A new regional currency – the Bristol Pound – will help support independent traders. While the Eat the Change project hopes to set up a People’s Supermarket for Bristol – run by the people, for the people. Please email any suggestions for content of the September–October newsletter to [email protected] by 15 August. A wasted harvest? Can we use locally grown fruit and Perhaps local greengrocers could become vegetables that will otherwise go to distribution hubs for surplus crops for waste? a percentage of course. We could start talking of food yards and not food miles. In the Autumn some Bristolians will be Local cooks could show us what to do with buying fruit and vegetables whilst others all those apples, runner beans, courgettes will have grown fruit and vegetables that and the rest. will not be harvested at all. In 2011 can we connect the two? We all know and I would like to hear from anyone who is understand the issue. Thousands of fruit involved in a group that already tries to trees where fruit is left to drop, gardeners tackle this problem. I would like to learn and allotment holders with surpluses they what works and what doesn’t. And I would can’t give away and food being shipped to like to hear from anybody who would like Bristol from all over the world. to help with this challenge. There are organisations that do try to I am a member of SusWot, Sustainable tackle this problem. I’ve heard of one that Westbury-on-Trym. In May and June will pick apples or pears for you and turn this year we have grown from seed and it into cider. And there are the occasional distributed almost 1,000 tomato plants entrepreneurial allotment holders who to people in Westbury-on-Trym. It was a Bristol’s local food update is produced by will barter with their local greengrocer. But simple project that aimed to help people volunteers at the Bristol Food Network, with food prices soaring and money short start growing some of their own food. with support from Bristol City Council. surely we can do a more? It was fun and involved lots of people. I The Bristol Food Network is an umbrella hope SusWot will be able to run a project group, made up of individuals, The benefits for our city could be great. to reduce the amount of wasted crops in community projects, organisations Less waste, people eating locally grown Westbury but wouldn’t it be good to do it and businesses who share a vision to fresh food probably produced without transform Bristol into a sustainable for all of Bristol? using many chemicals and communities food city. The Network connects people brought together with some shared If you think you could help email me working on diverse food-related issues – from getting more people growing, to harvesting activities. We could all eat Alex Dunn developing healthy-eating projects; from foods that were in season because they [email protected] tackling food waste, to making Bristol were so cheap, fresh and available. more self-sufficient. On the web… Ovagrown Organic tomatoes versus canned beans: How do consumers assess the environmental friendliness of vegetables? digest: Consumers’ assessment of environmental friendliness is compared with actual lifecycle assessment results of the overall environmental impact of a product throughout its lifespan. http://eab.sagepub.com/content/ early/2011/01/07/0013916510372865 Localizing fruit, vegetable consumption doesn’t necessarily solve environmental, health issues, study suggests digest: More than 99% of the produce grown in Santa Barbara County is exported. More than 95% of the produce Green-fingered colleagues from city- businesses around the city will be inspired consumed in the county is imported. centre firm Arup have given up their to follow suit and people will be able to www.sciencedaily.com/ lunchtimes and evenings to grow see how growing their own food can easily releases/2011/05/110519135116.htm vegetables on the grass outside their be done.” offices. Matt Gitsham from Arup said: “It’s Town hall bosses sell 50,000 allotments The team of employees from the fantastic to be given this opportunity off for redevelopment while ‘grow your consulting engineering firm approached by the council. Our group is really keen own’ demand soars the city council in the spring to suggest to grow our own low carbon food and digest: A survey commissioned by the last planting on some spare land outside their hopefully inspire some other would-be Government showed that in 1996–2006 office opposite St Mary’s Redcliffe. veg growers in the office and in the wider the number of allotment sites in cities, community.” towns and villages fell by nearly 800. The land is owned by Bristol City Council, and is in line with the council’s desire to Food growing was successfully trialled www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ see more food planting in parks and open last year in Castle Park. This has been article-1384483/Town-hall-bosses-sell- spaces. extended this year to another section of 50-000-allotments-grow-demand-soars. the park, plus some herb and salad beds html#ixzz1NYejbwQs Council Leader Barbara Janke said: “This were installed in Cabot Circus during the is an excellent project and highlights the recent Garden Life Show. A people-centered approach to improve potential of planting on land right in the access to food heart of the city centre. Anyone with suggestions where they digest: Simply producing more food will would like to see food growing should “The Arup employees are setting an not eradicate world hunger. The ongoing contact the Allotments Manager Steve excellent example to grow their own, and global food crisis requires governments Clampin – [email protected] make the most of spare grass and land to support small-scale farmers and to put around the city. The council is pleased The Arup group’s blog is access to food above overall production. to support this project, and I hope other http://ovagrown.blogspot.com/ www.energybulletin.net/ stories/2011-06-10/people-centered- approach-improve-access-food Are bean sprouts the end of organic farming? Nah. digest: The rise of some of the nastiest forms of bacterial illness are directly associated with confinement and industrial agriculture. http://scienceblogs.com/ casaubonsbook/2011/06/are_bean_ sprouts_the_end_of_or.php Sustainable Restaurants Association digest: A national not-for-profit membership association, providing restaurants with advice and support to help them navigate sustainability issues. www.fcrn.org.uk/interviews/2011/ sustainable-restaurants-association 2 bristol’S local FOOD UPdate · JULY–AUGUst 2011 On the web… GRO-FUN Planning for the harvest: Time GRO-FUN’s Many Hands Community Easton C of E schools and have been management for the chronically Allotment in St Werburghs is growing picking and eating salad, potatoes, radish overworked from strength to strength! After and strawberries with Years 3 and 4 to digest: You’ve decided that you are going participating in the Get Growing Trail their great delight and pride. We hope to do food preservation. It helps to plan we are hoping to attract more weekend to find additional schools to work with for the realities of the harvest – and this is volunteers to the garden to keep on top in the Spring term of 2012 so if you have planning that applies both to people with of general maintenance, other building any suggestions get in touch. As two of gardens who may now be planting, and projects and also, of course, to share the our P2P teachers are recently Mothers/ people who plan to put up food from local fun and fruits of our collective efforts. Mothers to be, we are looking also for farmers. With volunteer help we are currently more teacher/gardener types to deliver www.energybulletin.net/ building two shelters on the plot. One will our 12 week programme. Again, get in stories/2011-06-07/planning-harvest- allow us to cover the table, chair and pizza touch if this rewarding work is for you. time-management-chronically- oven area when inclement weather hits Finally, a group of drug-rehabilitation overworked whilst providing some vertical growing clients from a project called Pilot at space where the permaculture principle Hamilton House have been coming weekly Challenges of a Colorado Local Food of ‘stacking’ can be demonstrated. The to the plot to help out. The therapeutic Initiative second is a rain/sun shelter at the plot’s effects of gardening and being outdoors highest point where the view across to the digest: Even in a county that’s largely are plain to see and the group make supportive of local farmers, getting a self build project and Narroways is superb. a positive impact on the space whilst This is to be built out of local hazel/willow quarter of your produce locally can be being enriched by the soil, plants and difficult. and may in the future be weatherproofed fresh air. We have time/space for hosting using traditional cob (clay, straw mix). more groups like this and are particularly www.newwest.net/topic/article/ challenges_of_a_colorado_local_food_ It will have the appearance of a rounded interested in helping vulnerable groups initiative/C619/L619/ ‘hobbit-hole’ and should be very inviting access gardening activities.