Newquay Orchard and partners to distribute THOUSANDS of meals across Newquay this Christmas.
Newquay Community Orchard, in partnership with Cornish food charity The Hive and the team from value-led restaurant Canteen at the Orchard, are set to distribute over 5000 freshly made meals across Newquay this Christmas season.
The project sees organisations working together to create meals using surplus ingredients from suppliers across Cornwall, to feed families most in need over winter.
Newquay Community Orchard’s role is as Newquay’s Food Hub; a central distribution point for donations coming in from suppliers and going out via partners into the town. The idea is to divert perfectly usable food from landfill, to experts who can process it to create healthy, tasty meals for community use.
Jen Andrews, Head of Social Innovation at the Orchard, said: “This project is incredibly exciting – but it’s also essential. As an environmental and social organisation, Newquay Orchard is passionate about leading systemic change – and the issue of food waste and food poverty is still so prevalent in 2020.”
“This year has been difficult for people from all walks of life and there is more need than ever to be resourceful and innovative and to work together to support those in our community who need us.”
Working together
Newquay Orchard were awarded funding from the Lottery CV19 Response Fund in July 2020 to set up the Newquay Food Hub in response to COVID-19, to provide a long-term community food distribution network in Newquay. This multi-partner project will utilise the Orchard’s 7-acre site and new commercial kitchen facility in Kowel Gwenen, the community building, as a central food production and distribution hub.
The Hive’s Board of Directors include Newquay Orchard CEO, Luke Berkeley, and Babs Rounsevell – Director of community focussed group CHAOS, who are distributing half of the share of meals, with the Orchard taking the other half.
Babs said: “We are so excited to be working with Newquay Community Orchard on this project. Our organisations are not far from each other, and we’re all perfectly placed to serve our county from the centre. The future is looking so bright for Cornwall.”
Jen said: “This is an example of fantastic working partnerships and CHAOS are a brilliant organisation to work with. As a collaborative we are reacting to a call for need from our community for support after this difficult year.”
The project started this week with the creation of over 1200 meals, thanks to the first donation from Riviera Produce, one of the county’s largest producers of fruit and veg. Riviera Produce are on board to supply surplus veg going forward, starting with 20 crates of cauliflower and cabbages this week.
Tom Simmons from Riviera Produce said: “We are delighted to be helping such a great project during a very difficult time.”
Alongside these donations from county-wide suppliers is fresh vegetables sown, grown and harvested by volunteers at Newquay Orchard.
Hetty Ninnis, Sustainable Landscapes Manager at the Orchard, said: “It’s been long in the plans for An Lowarth, our community grow space, to be a growing hub for community need and I’m delighted to see it coming to fruition already!”
“Our interns loved being involved in the harvesting of the very first donations for this project and will play a huge part it its future.”
Good Food, Good Values
The experts who will be creating these means are the team from Canteen at the Orchard.
Jen said: “The Canteen team are well-versed in creating beautiful, healthy, wholesome meals for their community and are therefore the perfect partner for us to work with for this project.”
Canteen at the Orchard’s Ben Quinn and Paul Saunders are ‘proud’ to be part of it.
They said: “This is an amazing project and I’m so stoked Canteen at the Orchard are involved in creating these meals. The values of all the organisations involved line up so perfectly that only good can come of this collaboration – and goodness is what we need after this difficult year.”
“We cannot wait to be open at the Orchard in the New Year and work with the team and volunteers there every day.”
Jen added: “This project may be in a pilot stage – with work to do to iron out all the finer details – however there is no doubt that it be a lifeline for many, using food which otherwise would go to waste.”
“We really excited that we’re able to kick off this initiative, which is both great for people and for our planet, before Christmas.”