Page 18 - link magazine

18 The Link Magazine • July 2004
Discover the real taste of food, grown locally
An organic 'veg box scheme' in the Swindon area is celebrating its tenth year supplying high quality food with a low 'food-miles' value.
When first launched, people ganic Farm, less than a mile from "We also supply local
who bought food grown locally, West and North Swindon, requires shops like Swindon Pulse = • p • - «
organically and free of chemicals a change in the way you prepare in Curtis Street and run a
y
were thought of as cranky. Now, meals. Apart from sometimes ha - stall at local farmers' mar-
with worries about the quality of ing to wash a bit more mud away, kets; that might be the first
food, its bland taste mixed with what is in the box is chosen by the step in buying organic veg
the dangers of chemical residue, farm based on what is in season. for some people."
and the fact that flying it in from Rowie Madison from Purton Alongside the veg-box,
all over the world is damaging the House, right, said veg boxes might Purton House sell organi
global environment, more and not suit everybody at first. "Join- cally grown fruit and free ' •
more people are joining the scheme ing requires a new frame of mind range eggs. In the Autumn
and discovering what real food because the box can contain veg- they will be launching an
tastes like. etablesyoumightnothavecooked organically reared meat _
However joining the veg-box before. It encourages you to be box scheme.
scheme run by Purton House Or- flexible in your approach. 'Food miles' have be-
come an important consid-
Co-op shop opens for new community eration, added Rowie.
"Buying food from local
The first part of a £2m develop- growers is less harmful to
ment by the Oxford, Swindon & the environment in terms of the is little wastage."
Gloucester Co-op was launched distance it has to travel. We do With the growing season now in
on 15 June when a Co-op conven- supply fruit grown in other coun- full swing, now is the time to try
ience store opened at Taw Hill tries, but will source as much as the box scheme. The different fixed
village centre. we can locally. We also send our prices for boxes can be found at
Store manager, Robin Hindle vegetables to other box schemes www.purton-house.co.uk or call
said, "I'm really delighted with when we have a surplus, so there 770219 for an information leaflet.
this fantastic new store which pro-
vides the full range of convenience
shopping." Junior chefs show off their skills
Dewhurst Estate Agent opens a
new branch in July, to be followed Four youngsters from West Swindon primary schools teamed up
by five other retail outlets. The with Greendown School and Nationwide Building Society in June to
Taw Hill Residents'Association is compete for the title of junior cook of the year.
pressing for one of them to be a Robin Hindle, with Richard Barrass,
pharmacy located opposite the chair of the Taw Hill Residents' Asso-
new medical practice. ciation and resident Jonathan Dove

0 ®. l a

Community Dividend Scheme

A minimum of Tucking into the junior divhes, from left, Marie Salmon, Freshbrook School
1 % of the teaching assistant, Faye Millen, Lucy Bullion, head of food technology at
Greendown, Alex Baldwin, primary liaison coordinator Angela Proctor, Ryan
Society's profits
Gray, headteacher Steve O'Sullivan, Sammie Sycamore, Gillian Miller, young
are returned cooks competition organiser
to projects to The Swindon Young Cook of the Primary liaison teacher Angela
benefit the Year competition for secondary Proctor commented, "the stand-
schools, sponsored by Nationwide, ard of entry was very high; it was
local community
is well established with cash prizes amazing how confidently the con-
through the to finalists and their schools. Eight- testants took over the food tech-
Community A £1000 community dividend grant was made to een pupils cooked off at Swindon nology room to cook their dishes."
the Swindon ileostomy Association to produce a
Dividend video which provides information to people facing College on 10 June and were judged Sammie's supreme chicken dish
ileostomy because of Inflammatory Bowel Disease on how flavoursome and nutri- was chosen as the overall winner.
Scheme.
(IBS), Crohn's Disease or cancer, where part tionally well balanced their dishes
of the large intestine is removed and Global partnerships
If you think a project replaced with a bag outside the body were and the proportion of ingre-
you know of could From left, SIA committee members Kaye Byers dients produced in Wiltshire. First Peatmoor Primary School
(chairman), Dr Michael Hellier (president) and The juniors invited to cook off at established links with the Clarens
qualify for a grant
video producer Frank Williams with Valerie Judd Greendown had to put forward district of South Africa, now
of up to £ I ,000, call: of the Oxford Swindon & Gloucester Co-op. recipes along similar lines, but had Greendown School in Grange
to stay within a £5 budget pro- Park is going to start building a
call 0800 43 59011 vided by the school. relationship with Moriteng High
Greendown headteacher Steve School in the same area.
for more information O'Sullivan said it was a really dif- The Peatmoor connection with
ficult decision to judge a winner. Dihlabeng School in Clarens has
Oxford, Swindon & Gloucester "They were really tasty dishes and been covered by The Link over the
the effort the children made was last four years and we will be report-
tremendous." ing the developing Greendown link.