There’s a lot of sense in eating locally grown produce, the amount of emissions generated to grow and transport the food from the field to the plate is minimised – which is a good thing.
One of the ways of measuring this is the so called “food miles” indicator.
For example, an avocado grown in Mexico that is flown into the UK for sale in supermarkets has a high number of food miles by virtue of the enormous distance that the item has travelled from the field to the plate.
Sustainable Hertford heath with the amazing support of Hertford Heath Parish Council applied for support in establishing a set of community planters around the village through the Welcome Back grant offered by East Herts council. The Welcome Back Fund is providing councils across England a share of £56 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.
Great news! Hertford Heath has received enough funding to buy, install and plant up three vegetable planters. It is planned to site two of these at the village hall and one adjacent to the bus stop opposite Church Hill.
The intention is to ensure that these are well stocked with herbs and some salad vegetables so that members of the community can take a sprig as they pass to use in their cooking. Todmorden in West Yorkshire were one of the first to initiate this initiative of community Planting and called their scheme Incredible Edible and it still runs today.
So why not eat locally, abandon the concept of food miles, and start thinking in food yards. Be sage and take the thyme to pick up a bunch of herbs on your way past.
Meanwhile, if you would like to help with the upkeep of these communal beds then please get in touch with Tim Hoskin - timhoskin@btinternet.com
