The newsletter to support and celebrate community food projects in London!

ISSUE 3: CONTENTS
DECEMBER 2009 News
First Food For Health Awards p. 1
There is great work going on across London changing
Londoners’ experiences with food for the better. 850kg of Brent fruit saved! p. 1
London Food Link wants to support and publicise Refugee Food Programme p. 2
community food projects so their work can continue Buywell Retail Project
to reach out to more and more Londoners. Tower Hamlets Launch p. 2
Thanks to those who have sent us news. Please A Bloomin’ Success! p. 2
get in touch with Hannah@sustainweb.org or
Suzanne@sustainweb.org if you want to be Food Co-ops toolkit
now in print p. 3
featured in the next bulletin!
Green fingers in Islington p. 3

Events p. 3

London Food Link Take Action

London Food Link is working to create a healthier Ban Product Placement p. 4
and more sustainable food system. Members range
Time to tell Boris
from individuals, to restaurants, caterers, community
what’s cooking! p. 4
food projects, allotment holders and food writers.
London Food Link currently supports a wide range of
community food groups. For more information see
Funding p. 4
www.londonfoodlink.org

NEWS
FIRST FOOD FOR 850KG OF BRENT
HEALTH AWARDS FRUIT SAVED!
The Tower Hamlets Healthy This autumn, nearly a ton of fruit grown
Borough Programme is running in Brent was rescued from falling to the
a number of projects to make it ground and rotting. Apples, pears and
easier for people to become more plums were picked by 40 fruit-loving
active and eat more healthily volunteers. The fruit was divided out
in the borough. The food for and given to local schools, sold in restaurants or pressed into
health awards encourages fast delicious fresh juice to be sold at community events across the
food outlets to make changes to borough. This project was organised by Transition Town Kensal
reduce the amount of calories, fat to Kilburn and Brent Friends of the Earth. Plans for next year
and sugar on the menu. include pruning and pest management.

For more information visit For more information please email Michael Stuart:
www.onetowerhamlets.net Michael.Stuart6@gmail.com

The GHERKIN . Issue 3: December 2009

 NEWS
REFUGEE FOOD A BLOOMIN’
PROGRAMME SUCCESS!
Springfield Community Flat is running a refugee
food programme, a series of 10 cooking sessions
for refugees and asylum seekers in Larkhall,
Lambeth. The programme is funded by the Big
Lottery as part of Well London, which is helping
improve the health of people living in 20 deprived
areas of London. The project brings refugees
together to shop and cook, share healthy recipes,
learn and practise their English language skills,
and to build friendships with each other, and the
club will run until the end of December 2009.

Children in Enfield’s Trent Park digging up potatoes

The Enfield in Bloom Schools Programme has
been blossoming with success again this year,
after they transformed an allotment site in
Springfield Community Flat staff Enfield’s Trent Park. A number of primary schools
and refugee food programme participants have been able to sow, plant and harvest their
own fruit and vegetables. As well as helping
“I have lived in London for 8 years, but I don’t
children eat more fruit and vegetables, teachers
have many friends,” relates Carmita, a refugee
and parents have noticed the children not only
from Ecuador. “In the club, I have learned new
being nicer to each other, but to the teachers as
healthy recipes from throughout the world, and
well!
made loads of new friends in my area.”
For more information please email Karen:
For more information contact Brenda at Springfield Community Karen.Gurrey@enfield.gov.uk
Flat refugeesupportscf@hotmail.co.uk

BUYWELL RETAIL PROJECT

TOWER HAMLETS LAUNCH
The Buywell Project was launched in September at
a Costcutter in Poplar, Tower Hamlets. The project
is working with 17 stores across London to give
them an innovative fruit and veg ‘make over’ to
make it easier for Londoners’ living in deprived
areas to buy fresh fruit and veg.
Rosie Boycott, Chair of the London Food Board
attended the Buywell launch to show her support
for the project. After only four weeks, sales have
started to increase - by as much as 200% in
some shops. Salam Sheikh, who runs a Costcutter
participating in Buywell said: “Since making
changes, I’ve sold more fruit and vegetables in
one day than I usually do in a whole week.”
For more information please contact Children from Elfrida School in Lewisham at the
Hannah@sustainweb.org
launch of the Buywell Retail Project

2 The GHERKIN
 FOOD CO-OPS TOOLKIT GREEN FINGERS
NOW IN PRINT IN ISLINGTON
Sustain has now printed copies It’s been a busy time for the Garden Classroom,
of their food co-ops toolkit! a social enterprise set up by a local Islington
This toolkit is particularly useful resident last year. Inspired by watching her own
for groups that are planning to children learning in the garden, Marnie set up
set up new food co-ops but also the Garden Classroom giving Islington children
has lots of relevant information the chance to learn about science, wildlife and
for food co-ops that are already the environment through gardening. So far,
running. All the information is over 100 sessions have been run based on the
also available on-line at science curriculum in partnership with the local
www.sustainweb.org/foodcoopstoolkit. “King Henry’s Walk” community garden and local
schools. Workshops for green-fingered adults are
If you would like a copy email maresa@sustainweb.org
also available and from February there will be
beginner courses for vegetable gardeners.

EVENTS
For more information on The Garden Classroom email Marnie:
marnie@thegardenclassroom.org.uk

22nd Feb - 7th March:

DECEMBER JANUARY Fairtrade Fortnight
11th - 13th: Chocolate 9th: Grow, Pick and Eat at the Look out for events around
Festival - Southbank Centre Calthorpe Project , Camden, London and take part in ‘The Big
Square 2pm-3pm Swap’ by swapping your usual
produce for Fairtrade produce.
A must for lovers of all the A weekly Saturday workshop on
wonderful products derived from basic gardening skills for parents www.fairtrade.org.uk
the cocoa bean. and children.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/ www.calthorpeproject.org.uk
find/festivals-series/food- COOKERY EVENTS
markets-festivals
24th: London’s Charity Potato East London: Spitalfields City
Fair and Seed Exchange - Farm is running Bengali home
16th: Feeding the 5,000, East Dulwich cooking classes.
Trafalgar Square Please contact Laura Stobbart @
Seed potatoes sold individually
A free lunch made from and a seed exchange with many Spitalfields City Farm to confirm
ingredients that have been commercial packets as well as your place at future events.
reclaimed from ending up in home saved seed in sensible 020 7247 8762 gardens@
a skip. Led by the passionate amounts. There will also be spitalfieldscityfarm.org
author of “Waste”, Tristram several commercial stalls for
Stuart, this is a unique event tools and other kit.
to transform our perception of www.potatofair.org West London: Kay’s Cookery
food waste and the food system.
www.tristramstuart.co.uk Kay’s Cookery aims to help
parents and children learn how
FEBRUARY to prepare healthy affordable
19th: Feast of Thanks at The meals with an Indian twist.
27th - 28th: Get Growing
Golden Co. Winter Open Day Your Own, Waltham Forest For more information please
12-3pm email Kalwant Sahota:
Learn how to design a garden info@kayscookery.com
A winter feast, London honey or allotment space for fruit and
tasting and hand-crafted gifts at vegetable growing.
The Carole Young Community
Centre, London N1. Please RSVP www.walthamforestclass.gov.uk
to zoe@thegoldenco-op.com

Issue 3: December 2009 3

TAKE ACTION FUNDING
BAN PRODUCT COMMUNITY
PLACEMENT MATTERS (UK)
The Government wants Supermarket chain, Waitrose will award £2.2
to allow product placement in UK- million over the next year to nearly 7,000
made TV programmes, which would expose charities and local good causes. Waitrose will
children to even more junk food marketing. allocate £1,000 a month to each of its 190
They are consulting on this issue until 8 branches.
January, so please respond now.
Please contact your nearest Waitrose store for details.
You can make your concerns known
using the Children’s Food Campaign’s
easy online action: www.sustainweb.org/ CO-OP GROUP COMMUNITY
childrensfoodcampaign/action/
DIVIDEND FUND (ENGLAND &
WALES)
TIME TO TELL BORIS Community and voluntary groups as well as
WHAT’S COOKING! charities can apply for funding of between £100
and £5,000 to support projects that benefit the
Want to see more healthy food sold in your local community. To be eligible, the project must
area? Want to have more food growing benefit a local community in which at least one
spaces? Co-operative group business trades. Applications
Now’s your chance to tell the Mayor! The can be made at any time.
London Plan, which is the strategy for how www2.co-operative.com:8080/ext_1/ScottishR.nsf/0/2
London will look for the next 25 years, is 16514c83711c88880256c0d0052a46c?OpenDocument
being revised. The more responses the Mayor
receives, the more he is likely to listen to
what Londoners are saying. We would be EDIBLE ISLINGTON
very grateful if you could include the following SMALL GRANTS
points in your response:
Small grants of up to £3000 are available for new
• support more initiatives to improve food or expanding food growing spaces in Islington.
access, such as community food co-ops
and encouraging retailers to sell more
Contact Anna Terzi on anna@sustainweb.org
fresh fruit and vegetables
• encourage more food growing spaces,
including roof gardens and allotments ESMÉE FAIRBAIRN –
• support the farmers around London to FOOD STRAND
produce more food The Food Strand is a £3 million fund over three
All responses should be sent by email to years (2008 - 2011) aiming to promote an
mayor@london.gov.uk with ‘Replacement understanding of the role of food in enhancing
London Plan’ in the title by 5:00 pm on the quality of life. It will prioritise the enjoyment
Tuesday 12 January 2010. and experience of food rather than its production.
The Foundation is also interested in work that
For more information please contact influences policy and practice across a range of
Suzanne@sustainweb.org food-related areas.
For more information please visit:
www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/funding/food.html

Thanks to all the people who sent information in to The

Gherkin. If you would like to have your project featured
or an event promoted in the next issue please contact
Hannah@sustainweb.org or Suzanne@sustainweb.org.
Text Stepahnie Maslin-Monk Design Rebecca Joynt

The GHERKIN . Issue 3: December 2009