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A National Trust Food Glorious Food initiative launches today to
create a new generation of 'home-grown gastro-entertainers'. With
fifteen million people in the UK growing their own fruit and
vegetables last year* and more of us opting to entertain at home,
this Summer's trend is set to be growing your own dinner party.
The new, online 'Grow your own dinner party' application on the
National Trust's site www.foodgloriousfood.org.uk has been developed
to help first time growers through every stage, from making a pledge
and inviting friends to dinner to providing regular growing advice
and seasonal recipe ideas. An interactive map will show where all of
the grow your own dinner parties are planned.
Everyone taking part will be able to exchange tips and ask questions
of fellow growers on the Food Glorious Food Facebook group. A
National Trust kitchen gardener will plant seeds and write a regular
blog and Tweet with tips and advice as the plants grow. It will cover
everything from what to do about an aphid attack to how to spot when
carrots are ready to harvest.
Jenny Sansom, the National Trust's local food coordinator, says:
"Local and seasonal food is the best tasting and most
sustainable food available, and it's especially satisfying when
you've grown it yourself. The grow your own dinner party app will
help people use their delicious home-grown produce to throw a dinner
party and celebrate the fruits of their labour with friends. Everyone
is guaranteed to enjoy food bursting with flavour without having to
pay top restaurant prices.
A food revolution is taking place with individuals from Michelle
Obama to chef Gizzi Erskine and singer VV Brown all growing their own
food. We want to inspire as many new people to join in as possible."
A range of free Food Glorious Food events will be run at National
Trust properties across the country to help people pick up the
knowledge and supplies to kick-start their home-grown dinner party
ideas - this will include giving away over 170 million free seeds and
seedlings. To find your nearest property or to start your own dinner
party visit www.foodgloriousfood.org.uk.
Food Glorious Food is part of the National Trust's overall commitment
to sustainable food production on all land, and the use of quality,
local, seasonal and sustainable food in its kitchens and 150 restaurants.
* Figures from the Future Laboratory report, Food trends in 2030
(December 2009)
Six steps to a perfect Grow your own dinner party
1.Pledge to host your party on the Food Glorious Food website
2.Create a menu or choose from a set of seasonal recipes and invite
friends along
3.Get your free seeds from hundreds of Food Glorious Food events all
over the country
4.Plant your seeds and receive regular emails with growing timetables
and tips
5.Share your growing experience with or ask questions of fellow
growers on the Food Glorious Food Facebook group
6.Enjoy your Grow your own dinner party
" Last year, Food Glorious Food gave away 170 million seeds and
held events throughout the Summer to help people grow their own food.
During launch week, the new Food Glorious Food website, the first of
its kind for the National Trust, www.foodgloriousfood.org.uk saw one
person signing up for an online garden patch every two minutes,
creating 1,250 virtual farmers.
· The Trust uses quality, local, seasonal and sustainable food
in its 150 restaurants and tea-rooms, which serve over 8 million
people every year. Where possible, produce is sourced from the land
immediately around a property; fruit, herbs and vegetables from the
kitchen gardens and meat from quality herds managed by tenant farmers.
· The National Trust is involved in the whole food chain, with
500,000 acres of food producing land, over 150 restaurants and
tearooms, and historic kitchen gardens, orchards and mills. The
charity has community growing spaces - from allotments to kitchen
gardens - at over 50 locations around the country and is increasing
these annually. These spaces inspire the Trust's 3.8 million members,
56,000 volunteers and visitors to think and learn about food. The
National Trust is creating 1,000 new allotment plots on its land to
give local communities the space to grow their own fruit and
vegetables. Find out more at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/food |
