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News Archive May
Bank holiday birthday “knit-in” at the Stoke Newington Farmers’
Market Saturday
3rd May The
Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market celebrates its 5th birthday with a
vegetable “knit-in” on Saturday 3rd May from 10am till 2.30pm.
The Cast-Off Knitting group will be displaying their amazing vegetable
creations while running a knitting workshop on hay bales among the
market stalls. There will also be a birthday breakfast table
with a chance to sample food from the market and find out more about
how it’s produced. The Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market is
celebrating 5 years of providing locally grown, organic food to the
heart of the city. Over 1,600 people every week now flock to
what is still the UK’s only all-organic weekly farmers’ market. “We
hope that people will want to find out more about the farmers and the
food at the market – we know that not everybody likes vegetables but
who could resist a knitted cauliflower? said Kerry Rankine, Growing
Communities’ market organiser, “But at the same time as enjoying
the food, (and knitting), by shopping at the market, people are
reducing their own carbon footprint while helping us to support small
organic farmers and re-localise London’s food supply.” From its launch in May 2003 with 6 small organic producers, the market now has an annual turnover of £600,000 and works with 20 small farmers and producers – who come from an average of 56 miles away from Hackney. The success of the market has helped several farmers to take on more land and convert it to organic production. Since the market started, Growing Communities estimates that farmers at the market from Kent and Essex have taken on an additional 300 acres of land which has now been put into organic conversion.
Triodos Ethical Small Business Awards June 2008 Director Julie Brown was one of the three finalists in the Triodos Ethical Small Business Awards. On our press page, you can watch a short film with Julie talking about Growing Communities' aims and projects, with shots of the Farmers Market and packing of the bags for the box scheme! Hats off – or on – at the Stoke Newington Farmers’ market this Easter! There’s a chance to find out how to make your own Easter bonnet – or straw hat – at the Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market on Saturday 11th April when Andrew McDonald, (who has made hats for designers Karl Lagerfield and Bella Freud) gives a demonstration of his hat-making workshop. Andrew is showing his work and his hat-making courses at the market as part of a programme of events at the market showcasing unusual businesses in Hackney. Get Growing February 2009 Sara Davies, (Growing Communities’ assistant grower) has just launched an exciting new project of her own to get more Hackney residents growing food at home. The project is called Get Growing and Sara and her colleague Hedwig Murray are looking to find participants for the 2009 growing season. Get Growing offers local people a chance to get free training in food-growing in their own spaces, whether that is a garden, balcony or even a window-sill, using organic methods. Sara and Hedwig are encouraging people to grow a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. They will also advise about water saving, composting and making containers out of recycled materials. The project will provide a starter pack for residents with basic equipment, including seeds and compost. From March to September this year the Get Growing team will regularly visit people on the scheme to support and inspire them. Get Growing is able to offer free training because Sara and Hedwig succeeded in getting funding for their project from Awards for All and Artists Project Earth. If you would like to take part log on to their website www.getgrowing.org.uk, or contact Sara by email info@getgrowing.org.uk or by phone 020 7241 1494. But remember - you need to apply by 22nd February 2009.
Plant and Seed Sale & Exchange Sunday 4th May Please come along to our plant sale on 4th May 1-4 p.m. at Springfield Park. There will be certified organic vegetable, fruit and herb plants & seeds for sale. Bring any of your own surplus plants to swap, and look around our spring garden! Digging Day Sunday 3rd February 2008 We are holding a special Digging Day on our Springfield site in Springfield Park on Sunday 3rd February – so we can grow even more salad in the greenhouses there. Please come along between 10am and 4pm – lunch will be provided for willing workers! Spades and other equipment will be provided but please wear old clothes and sturdy footwear. Contact us by phone or e-mail for more details. The Festive Good Food Swap Join Growing Communities in celebrating the winter season at our festive Good Food Swap. We want you to be there with food you’ve made, grown, picked or found. It’s an event, a chance to show off your produce and a way of getting good food for free by swapping what you’ve brought! For more details see our Good Food Swap page and register today... Saturday 8th December 2007 6-10pm NEW Venue – St Paul’s Church Hall, Evering Road entrance (just off Stoke Newington Road) N16 7UE Peel along to Apple Day at the Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market on 20th October. Growing Communities’ Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market celebrates Apple Day on Saturday 20th October with free activities for children and adults from 10am to 2.30pm. Children can work with a local artist to build a giant apple – out of papier maché - as well as trying out traditional apple games such as bobbing for apples.
For adults there will be a wide range of
old and new varieties of apple to look at and to taste from
small-scale organic apple farms in Essex. Visitors can have a go at
pressing their own apple juice – and there will be local organic apple
juice, cider and perry on sale.
As well as promoting the fortunes of organic apple growers around London, Growing Communities also wants to inspire more people to set up community orchards in London. Last year Growing Communities and local residents planted a community orchard in the heart of Hackney: the Butterfield Green Community Orchard group will be there on Apple Day to describe how they went about setting up their community orchard. There will be more inspiration in the form of chef Jean Torné of the Concord School of Culinary Art – who will be demonstrating different apple recipes. All this – plus 17 stalls packed with locally produced organic food. New pick up points for the organic box scheme! 26th September 2007 It's a great time of year for local produce so we're really pleased to announce that we have 2 new community pick up points for our box scheme: POGO cafe on Clarence Road (just off Mare Street) E5 and The Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park, E3. Places are available to start from October onwards so join the box scheme online today and make the most of the late summer produce while it lasts! Growing Communities fruit and veg scheme now accepts Healthy Start vouchers.... August 2007
Our box scheme is now
part of the government’s Healthy Start scheme which means that if you
are in receipt of healthy start vouchers these can be used towards the
cost of your produce order with us. For more info about eligibility
for the scheme visit
www.healthystart.nhs.uk - and please get in touch with us by email
or phone if you want to use this option to help pay for your order
with us. Growing Communities growcomm@growingcommunities.org
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