A dozen events, visits, training sessions and talks are taking place during Manchester's Food & Drink Festival, all focused on different aspects of sustainability and our city's food.
We've had a fantastic response from groups and businesses when we agreed to collate all the sustainable food events taking place between the 7th and 17th October. The events taking place are listed below, but can also be found on our FeedingManchester website calendar and will be promoted widely by the Manchester Food & Drink Festival itself, via their brochure and website.
The events include:
Sunday 9th: Unicorn Street Café.
12-4pm at Unicorn grocery. It's squash season and Unicorn will be serving up hot squash curry and pumpkin cheesecake outside the shop. All made with veg sourced from organic UK growers, including Glebelands City Growers in Sale. Eat the seasons! (www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk)
Sunday 9th: Love-Ugly Veg.
Meet the veggies in Albert Square and see if you can guess what's hiding in our boxes.
Sunday 9th: Herbie - Your Local Greengrocer.
Come and meet Manchester's only mobile greengrocer in Albert Square, grab yourself one of our handy soup packs or a freshly squeezed juice and find out how to get involved in our new veg bag scheme!
Sunday 9th: Children's allotment in Albert Square with Hulme Community Garden Centre and Debdale Eco-Centre. Come along and grow your own food. Plus free workshops and courses during the festival (contact Adrienne Hunter 220 9199 and see: www.hulmegardencentre.org.uk and www.debdale-ecocentre.org.uk)
Monday 10th: Fresh local food delivered to your desk.
12.30 pm. At Holyoake House: Meeting about setting up a bulk buying system to provide fresh local food to city workers. Bulk buying group consisting of producers, local councillors and businesses to meet up to discuss setting up systems to provide fresh local food to city workers (see feedingmanchester.org.uk/events)
Friday 14th: Jam & Chutney Making with Cracking Good Food and Trove Foods - using seasonal, organic food sourced locally.
3.00 or 4.15pm in Albert Square: Collaborators Cracking Good Food, a community cooking group based in Chorlton and Trove Foods, a newly established organic and sustainable food business based in Levenshulme, offer you the chance to make jam and chutney together, using seasonal, organic food sourced locally.
With each session lasting an hour and a quarter, in groups of 12 we'll guide you through the process of making either jam or chutney.
The sessions with Marcus or Katy from Trove Foods, will begin at either 3.00 or 4.15 depending on which type of preserve you chose to make.
£10 per person. Please bring your own medium sized jar to fill and take home with you. Please book through www.crackinggoodfood.org Booking and payment in advance essential.
Sat 15th: Market Crawl Bingo. See for yourself how sourcing sustainable food can be easy, affordable and fun. A 'riotous' (without actually committing arson etc.) romp through the food that Manchester has to offer in it's awesome food markets-meet the stall holders-fill your bellies & your bingo card for the chance to win a massive foodie prize!!!!!!! (see www.feedingmanchester.org.uk for details)
Sat 15th: What do I do with tofu.
12-2pm at Unicorn Grocery. Tofu's where it's at for cheap, tasty, nutritious meals. Yes, tasty, really. Let Unicorn Danny show you how.
Sunday 16th: How to make….Lunchbox Treats.
12-2pm at Unicorn Grocery. Using store cupboard essentials (nuts, seeds & dried fruits) Erika will show you a variety of quick and healthy sweet snacks for the kids.
Sunday 16th : Kentworthy Community Orchard Open Day.
12.30-3.30pm - Come and discover this hidden gem in Chorlton.
It is an afternoon for all the family; apple juicing & tasting, apple bobbing, treasure hunts, tours & workshops on growing fruit bushes.
The Open Day is part of the Manchester Food & Drink Festival and will provide information so that you can produce your own fruit & look after orchards.
Please reserve a place by emailing abundancemanchester@yahoo.co.uk
Kenworthy Orchard is managed by volunteers from Abundance Manchester. For more information see: abundancemanchester@wordpress.com
Mon 17th: Meet the Growers.
7.00 for a 7.30 prompt start, at Unicorn Grocery £3. Tickets IN ADVANCE from the shop.
“Meet the people putting veg on your plate Come and hear Unicorn most local growers talk about the realities of organic growing and trading. Glebelands City Growers (Sale), Tom Rigby (Warrington) Moss Brook Growers (Unicorn land near Leigh) and Chris Hewitt (Dunham Massey) plus local social enterprise The Kindling Trust will talk about their highs, their lows, and how they are working together to help build a more sustainable food system for Manchester. Plus enjoy a free organic soup made from the growers veg, courtesy of Unicorn deli.
We are indebted to the Food & Drink Festival organisers for their support.