A pub in Alconbury Weston is becoming a hub for locals by offering free plants and seeds outside its premises and selling local veg to villagers.
Inspired by local food champion, Anthony Davison who lives in the village, The White Hart in Alconbury Weston is part of a plan to inspire more locals to start growing their own and help feed the village the freshest fruit and veg.
Anthony, who runs local food and drink website www.bigbarn.co.uk started a community food scheme in the village at the start of the year and has now extended the plan to include the local pub. Having contacted fruit and vegetable company, Marshall Seeds & Plants, they agreed to donate ‘past sell by date’ plants that would normally be thrown away for him to give away to locals.
“I have set up a stall outside the pub and a Facebook page to inform locals of what is available every week. So far we have given away lots of potato chits, onion sets, garlic, tomato, aubergines, and leeks. I am hoping the pub can be the hub for local food and get more people involved.”
Kim Sewell is the landlady at the White Hart Pub. She says, “We love our food and are always looking to improve our salad and veg offer. We already get involved with as many community events as we can and hope the Alconbury Food project helps build the community around food with our pub as a facilitator.”
The next stage of the plan is to create a section in the pub where locals can place their surplus fruit and veg to be sold for 20% cheaper than the supermarkets. “I’m hoping that offering these free plants and encouraging locals to join together and create a local food hub will prove that it can be done, not just here, but in villages and communities all over the country,” explains Anthony.
“In order for our British food industry to survive we need to inspire people to grow their own and to think about the produce they are buying and eating. This isn’t an easy task, but I’m determined that Alconbury Weston can become a case study for local living all over the UK,” adds Anthony.