Grown too many courgettes? Surplus from your Sheffield allotment could go to good use

Sheffield Food Works is urging people to grow their own food and donate the surplus in a bid to increase sustainability and tackle food waste.
The Food Works team at Handsworth warehouse.The Food Works team at Handsworth warehouse.
The Food Works team at Handsworth warehouse.

Food Works has called on growers in Sheffield to repurpose their surplus rhubarb, courgettes and more by donating extra left over fruit and vegetables from their allotments in order to make the city more sustainable and reduce food miles.

When Woodseats community allotments donated surplus vegetables to Food Works last year, it sparked an inspiration to make the scheme city-wide, and Food Works applied to the Food Resilience Project for funding in order to do so.

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The organisation was successful in a recent funding bid, receiving an award of £10,000 through Sustainable Food Places, funded through the National Lottery Community Fund and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

A donation from Woodseats Allotments.A donation from Woodseats Allotments.
A donation from Woodseats Allotments.

Sarah Deakin, a member of the Food Works farm team, told the Telegraph: “It is absolutely important to be greener now. The food miles involved in one tomato is over 2000 miles.

"Fresh seasonal food is better. In Europe they understand that some foods are seasonal, here, we expect everything all year round.

“It’s important that we try to cut carbon emissions - eating fresh locally grown food is important to this.

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Food miles is the measure of the distance between where something is grown and where it is eaten.

Rachael McNiven delivering rhubarb from Food Works FarmRachael McNiven delivering rhubarb from Food Works Farm
Rachael McNiven delivering rhubarb from Food Works Farm

The demand for out of season foods means that some fruit and vegetables that cannot be grown in the UK all year round are transported from abroad, increasing food miles. Bananas from Latin America dominate fruit imports, followed by apples from France and South Africa

Sarah added: “We want to get more people to grow stuff – everyone with an allotment has a surplus over the year. It shows what you can do locally without having to rely on supermarkets.

"Interest in allotments has gone through the roof during the pandemic, there is more interest in eating local food.

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"Food Works harvest what supermarkets have left over – from all over the city that would otherwise go to landfill. But supermarkets use this as a greenwashing exercise.”

Sarah, Reynolds Fran Halsall, and Rachael McNiven at the start of planting season in AprilSarah, Reynolds Fran Halsall, and Rachael McNiven at the start of planting season in April
Sarah, Reynolds Fran Halsall, and Rachael McNiven at the start of planting season in April

Food Works arranges a weekly collection of surplus food with a contact person at each allotment site across Sheffield, ensuring that food waste is reduced and affordable sustainable food is provided in the city.

The call is timely, coming as it does during National Allotments Week, which runs until August 15.

Sarah. added: “I have an allotment at Heeley and Meersbrook allotments and am the contact for plotters there to donate their food. The first collection was last weekend, and we're excited to see how people engage.

"There’s three different ways the food is used.

Sarah Deakin delivering the first harvest at Mickley Lane Allotments.Sarah Deakin delivering the first harvest at Mickley Lane Allotments.
Sarah Deakin delivering the first harvest at Mickley Lane Allotments.
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"There is a kitchen at Sharrow Old Junior School, where meals are cooked and immediately frozen. They are sent off to hubs where people all over the city can go and buy a frozen meal for a minimum donation of £1.

“Subscription boxes for patrons are £10 a week, they will have lots of different things from supermarkets and now fresh fruit and vegetables from these surpluses.

“The food that is not quite as pretty goes into surplus boxes which can be bought for a minimum £1 donation at Handsworth Market.

"Anything that looks like it will go off or wilt is composted and sent back to the allotments. So it’s a circular system.”

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Food Works is a mostly volunteer run organisation, with a handful of paid staff.

Sarah said: “We have volunteer drivers, volunteer unpackers, volunteer sellers. And at the farm we have volunteers working there to grow the food.”

Robin and Theo helping out on their grandparents' Meersbrook allotment.Robin and Theo helping out on their grandparents' Meersbrook allotment.
Robin and Theo helping out on their grandparents' Meersbrook allotment.

A network of organisations has helped to supply Food Works with fresh produce over the years.

Sarah said: “Kenwood Community Growers, who have been tending the old kitchen garden at Kenwood Hall Hotel, Nether Edge, which is threatened with development, have also been growing specifically for Food Works for two years now. They and Woodseats Allotments have shown what's possible.”

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Rosie Pacsuta-Davies, a member of the Woodseats Allotments Society, said: “We decided run pop-up shops to sell our produce to the public and the proceeds went to local charities who were struggling with funds.

"Surplus veg was given to Sheffield Food Works. When we didn't have these pop-ups, all the surplus veg was collected by the Food Works team.

"As well as produce, we were able to hand over a couple of cheques as well.

“We are a community and the bigger impact had been contact with people who had missed contact with others through this pandemic or who had seen the light in terms of the value of gardens, allotments, fresh food and the need for charity.

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“The reception from our locals has been really positive. We are still running pop-up shops this year and will also be sharing our surplus produce with Food Works.”

Food Works is a not-for-profit social enterprise, which provides fair and sustainable food for Sheffield through upcycling surpluses in its kitchen, market and farm. The organisation provided one million meals for people in Sheffield during the pandemic.

Individuals can donate fruit and vegetables seven days a week at Handsworth Sharehouse Market between 10am and 3pm, or at Sharrow kitchen and café, on Mon-Thurs, 10am to 2pm.

Further information about the Food Works project is at https://thefoodworks.org/farm/.

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