Do you know someone who has everything, and hard to find a Christmas present for? Or perhaps someone who loves food and cooking? Or someone who loves the idea of seasonal produce, grown locally to organic standards?
If they live or work in/near Leamington Spa, why not get them a 4-week trial veg share, to be taken from any start date in January, from Tuesday 7th January onwards. Our vegetable shares are available in 3 sizes, to suit different households, and can be collected from our farm site during one of 3 collection slots each week, or from our collection point in Leamington Spa. More details can be seen on the page for buying a trial share.
Order before Monday 16th December and we can post a gift certificate and information sheet to your address for the intended recipient, for you to give to them on Christmas day.
Canalside Community Food member family of three, non-smoking, pets free looking for a minimum two bedroom house to rent preferably in Leamington Spa, sometime from the first half of this year.
Please contact: Laz 07799587671 or Zita 07961058905
A new page has been added:
https://www.canalsidecommunityfood.org.uk/the-produce/vegetables/canalside-veg-through-the-year/
Have a look to find out how the Canalside veg share changes from month to month.
Leamington Community Kitchen (LCK) is a new venture organised by some pro-active Warwick Uni students. LCK uses waste food from local businesses to cook delicious Sunday lunches to give away. "The project is aiming to rescue perfectly edible food that is thrown away everyday and use it to feed the community. By doing this we want not only to target food waste but to create a friendly space where people can come together to share a meal" The students are using the Veggie Table cafe at Bath Place as their base, and so far have collected food from the kind people at the Spa, Gaia, and Bread & Co. Rebecca and I went along on Sunday with the kids to check it out and received a warm welcome and a very generous lunch - all for FREE, but small donations are welcome to buy some provisions. Whilst some people may think the project is simply a "soup kitchen" aimed at the homeless and long-term unemployed, the students were keen to point out that they are targeting the wider community. Sustainability is where they are coming from. Could this be the start of a larger Freeconomy / Freegan movement in Leamington? Please spread the word and come and support LCK. Donations of food are welcome, the group soon hope to have a chest freezer at Bath Place. Ring Lewis on 07932 540813 Bruce Knight
(Read more at: http://www.bathplace.org/news/community-kitchen.html)
Friday saw the ‘Feeding the 5000’ event, at which 5000 members of the public in Trafalgar Square ate curry made from surplus food that would otherwise have been wasted. Its aim was to highlight how easy it is to reduce the unimaginable levels of food waste in the UK and internatonally, and in doing so benefit those who don’t have enough to eat.
The event urged the public to sign the Feeding the 5000 pledge calling for acton from governments, retailers and food businesses: ‘I pledge to reduce my food waste and I want businesses to do the same’. Fear not! Although the event is over, those unable to attend the event will be able to pledge through the Feeding the 5000 website (www.feeding5k.org). Around 80 percent of consumers want businesses to tackle food waste: this offers an opportunity for businesses to respond to the challenge in proactive, positive ways.
One of our Canalside members came across this article about a CSA farm in China.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/09/24/140670551/how-community-supported-agriculture-sprouted-in-china
The fourth Small is… festival to be set in the beautiful grounds of The Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development, near Rugby, is fast approaching. Download the PDF e-flyer here for further details of an engaging weekend which will celebrate the centenary of E.F. Schumacher, author of ‘Small is Beautiful: a Study of Economics as if People Mattered’, as well as giving members of the public, experienced professionals and young enthusiastic engineers the chance to engage with and question the ideas related to international development and sustainability across all areas of our lives.
Smallis e-flyer
The Canalside Blues
(to the tune of “Walkin’ down the line” by Bob Dylan, lyrics by Steven Hunt)
I’ve been working on the farm
I’ve been working on the farm
I’ve been working on the farm, it’s got a lotta charm, and I hope I didn’t do no harm
I might a trodden on a beet
Might a trodden on a beet
Might a trodden on a beet, with my size ten feet, that’s not a beet we’re gonna eat
I’ve been working on the farm…
I ate a potato
I ate a potato
I ate a potato, that I helped to grow, and it tasted better cause I know that I’ve been working on the farm…
I met farmer Tom
I met farmer Tom
I met farmer Tom, and we got right along, and I hope he’s listening to this song
Coz I’ve been working on the farm… really…
I’ve been working on the farm, I have so…
I ain’t no cheat, it’s written on the sheet, don’t believe me you can talk to Pete…
It was last year sometime…
I’ve gotten five e-mails
I’ve gotten ten e-mails
I didn’t read them all, coz my brain’s too small, just call if I can help at all
Coz I love working on the farm…
I got a funny coloured squash
I got a funny coloured squash
I need a recipe, coz believe you me, I got blue squash for my tea
I’ve been working on the farm…
I planted a courgette
I planted a courgette
I planted a courgette, and I’m willing to bet, that’s a thing I will regret when I get a hundred courgettes
I’ve been working on the farm…
I got some muddy shoes
I got some muddy shoes
I got some muddy shoes, but I ain’t gonna lose, just love them Canalside blues
I’ve been working on the farm…
We are applying for energyshare funding to provide sustainable energy sources for Canalside. A solar panel and wind turbine will be used for lighting and powering small electrical items at the project site. Help us go through to the next round of applications by becoming a supporter at:
www.energyshare.com/canalside-community-food-energy/
We need as many supporters as possible by 30th June to have a chance of going through to the next round!
How to be our supporter:
– Go to the energyshare site
– Click on the button ‘support this group’
– Go through a brief registration process by giving your name, address and a password
– Go to your emails and click on the link in the email from energyshare to activate your account and support for us!
Thank you for your support – we appreciate it massively!
Come and find Canalside members, growers and steering group members on our stall at the Peace Festival – Saturday 18th – Sunday 19th June. We will have a wide range of organically raised veg plants available to buy to grow on at home, as well as the opportunity to find out more about the project, sign up for veg shares and trial veg shares, and more!