5 seasonal surplus veg from farm to fork
28 September 2016
28 September 2016
October 2016
Autumn is our favourite time of the year at FareShare as our warehouses fill up with delicious seasonal fruit and veg fresh in from the British harvest. The produce we redistribute becomes surplus for all sorts of reasons; unexpected weather might cause a glut of apples, wonky carrots might not quite meet spec or it might just be down to overproduction. We work with farmers and the food industry to make sure it all reaches a good home.
To celebrate the harvest, we’ve picked the top 5 seasonal produce that we’ve redistributed this autumn. Follow the food from field to fork below and discover recipe ideas for making the most of this season’s veg along the way.
Our friends at Gleaning North West saved lots of lovely kale and cabbages from going to waste on a farmers field in the region. They sent it to FareShare Greater Manchester who redistributed it to charities and community groups across the city. Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they have been commercially harvested. Gleaning UK is part of environmental organisation Feedback and their Field to Fork Project is funded by Our Bright Futures.
Emma Bartlett, Gleaning North West Co-ordintor, shared her favourite recipe for kale crisps
“Roughly chop the kale leaves, drizzle olive oil over them and roast the leaves in a hot oven until they turn crispy. For a bit of kick you can add chilli flakes. Tasty, crispy and super healthy!”
Onions might not get the column inches that kale does these days but they have great superfood credentials too – alliums are packed with health giving qualities as well as being possibly the most versatile veg of all. We redistributed ten tonnes of beautiful bright red ones from UK’s leading Organic specialists, SunFresh Produce to charities and community groups across the UK. SunFresh Produce says “It’s important to help anyone in a less fortunate situation so we’re proud to support such a great scheme as FareShare.”
Matt Godfroy, Managing Director of SunFresh Produce, suggests turning yours into a red onion marmalade, such as this one from BBC Good Food.
These tangy bramley apples came straight from the orchards of England to FareShare London after being saved from waste by our friends at Gleaning UK. While you might not fancy biting into a bramley, they are perfect for using in cooking – from filling a classic apple pie to adding a tang to a cheese tart.
Maria (above left), FareShare’s Marketing and Communications Manager, suggests “Use them to make your own spicy apple chutney.”
We call it urban gleaning” says Miranda at FareShare Greater Manchester of their Too Good to Waste project. The scheme redistributes good food that would otherwise go to waste from New Smithfield Market, the North West’s largest fruit and veg wholesale market, to charities and community groups in the region.
This autumn they’ve been redistributing surplus cauliflowers from New Smithfield to some of the hundreds of charities and community groups they support across Greater Manchester. We love cauliflower at FareShare because it’s packed with nutrients and vitamins.
Miranda suggests “Roast it or make cauliflower and peanut butter soup – it’s surprisingly good!”
Now this veg isn’t surplus but we love this project so much we slipped it in here. The Young Marketeers project sees London schoolchildren growing and harvesting their own fruit and veg and selling it at London’s famous Borough Market. All the proceeds from the sale of their lovely leeks, potatoes, cabbages and carrots are donated to FareShare, helping us to save more good food from going to waste.
The Harvest Sale is the culmination of a five year partnership between Borough Market and School Food Matters, a charity whose mission is to ensure that every child enjoys fresh, sustainable food at school and understands where their food comes from. What’s not to love!