News

The Impact of Community Supported Agriculture

A new evaluation report which found that more than 80 CSA initiatives are providing multiple benefits to thousands of members, their communities, local economies and the environment.

• The Impact of Community Supported Agriculture

Battery hens looking for new homes!

If your CSA is looking for some hens, why not contact the British Hen Welfare Trust which is looking to re-house a large number of hens for a donation of only £2.00 per bird. 

• www.BHWT.org.uk 

New meanwhile lease available for leasing out land to community groups

Increased interest in people growing their own fruit and vegetables has led to a shortage of allotments and pressure to find alternative solutions. A Meanwhile Lease has been developed which, it is hoped, will help provide access to land on a temporary basis for community groups and individuals interested in growing food and make it easier for landowners to confidently lease land on a temporary basis. Defra are now looking to road-test it. If you are interested in leasing out some of your land please contact Liz.moorman@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

New CSA projects

Colne Valley Charcuteria is out of the (chopping) blocks!

After a lot of talk, beer and hard work, our friend, Tim Bennett, has launched Colne Valley Charcuteria. Tucked away in the back of the same mill as the Handmade Bakery, it's already producing some delicious artisan chorizo and maturing some other cured delights.  Using Yorkshire free range pork from Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spot pigs raised in ancient beech woodland and organic or fair-trade herbs and spices. Some of the recipes come from family in Spain with others coming from much research and experimentation and have been adapted to suit the fine Colne Valley climate.  He plans to introduce a similar Community Supported model to the one which so successfully helped start the bakery by offering customers a monthly chorizo subscription.  To introduce the Charcuteria, the subscription scheme and allow people to taste some of his fantastic  produce Tim is hosting a free tapas tasting evening at the The Handmade Bakery on Wednesday the 22nd of February at 6.30pm.  If you would like to come please email Tim by the 20th of February so he can get an idea of numbers to expect. Email: don.salchichon@yahoo.co.uk Unit 6 Upper Mills, Canal Side, Slaithwaite, HD7 5HA
 

JOBS

Coventry CSA Grower Position
We are a new CSA scheme aiming to launch this season. We will be situated at Garden Organic at Ryton, near Coventry, and has an agreement to lease land from the charity. It will be an independent enterprise steered by its members through a steering committee of volunteer members. The group is currently committed to raising the finance necessary to establish the business. We are seeking to employ a grower committed to the principles of community supported agriculture and who would relish the challenge of getting such a scheme off the ground and running with the aim of employing them once the finances are in place. A full job description is available but appointment will be dependent on finance. If you think you might be interested in this scheme please get in touch and/or attend the launch meeting on the 9th February 2012. For more details please contact: Gareth Davies, South Warwickshire Local Food CIC. Email: g_davies@talk21.com, tel: 01926 883161 / 07717283953
 

Press Cuttings

• Keeping it in the Community, Vegetarian Living magazine, August 2011
• Biodynamic Farmland Trust: from Vision to Action, Star and Furrow, April 2011
• A new way to work for UK farms, The Journal, 12 March 2011
• Upper Crust: inside a Yorkshire Bakery, The Telegraph, 13 January 2011
• The Organic Grower - The journal of the Organic Growers Alliance, Winter 2010, no.13, pages 18-25
• Local recipes for success, New Start Magazine, June 2010
• The journalist who uncovered a plot in the countryside, Western Morning News, 26 April 2010
• Green light for town garden scheme, Okehampton Times, 17 March 2010
• Community supported agriculture: A model of our times? The Food Magazine,Feb 2010
• Keep our produce fresh, local & personal PLUS Food with a face Inspired Times, March 2010
• Residents join forces to feed themselves, The Guardian, 3 Feb 2010
• Food with a face – Organic Farming, Summer 2009
• How to get community investment in green projects, The Ecologist, 11 November 09
• Agriculture for All, Cornwall Life, September 09
• Community bakery finds permanent new home, British Baker, 31 July 09
• Enjoy bread as it used to be baked, by Helen Peacocke, The Oxford Times, 5 January 09
• Sowing the seeds of food awareness, by Saba Salman, The Guardian, 16 April 09
• Dig for recovery: allotments boom as thousands go to ground in recession, by Rebecca Smithers, The Guardian, 19 Feb 09
• Can Daisy help the ailing dairy industry bloom?, by Michael Wale, The Times, 14 Feb 09
• Education all part of the service at Whitmuir, Scottish Farmer, 17 Jan 09
• We're all farmers now, by Tessa Boase, The Telegraph, 22 Nov 08
• Stearns community farm - Earth mother guided by the moon, The Telegraph, 22 Nov 08
• All hands to the plough, by Ed Hamer, The Ecologist Magazine, Sep 08 [PDF, 482 KB]
• Community farming is a growing concern, Western Morning News, 1 Sept 08
• Community action revives Welsh mountain farm, The Guardian, 13 Aug 2008

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