The New Forest Food Challenge is a project designed to help you ‘eat and grow local’.  Its interactive website has loads of details about markets, products, seasonal recipes and help for those who want to grow more of their own food.

Their projects encourage individuals, families and schools to grow or raise their own food, learn new skills and prevent food waste. They promote local farmers, producers, shops and outlets that grow and supply local food.

If you are on Facebook, please ‘like’ the New Forest Food Challenge, and find out what is happening across the forest with regard local food. They promote food local courses for example beekeeping, apple tree pruning and bread making, they advertise local foodie events, share recipes and keep you updated with any local food offers.

https://www.facebook.com/New-Forest-Food-Challenge-217073741981010/

Get Ready For A Fruitful 2016

It’s getting cold outside and the days are short. But that shouldn’t stop you from thinking about the promise of the next year’s growing season.

Working together with Transition Southampton, local project and Brand New Forest partner the New Forest Food Challenge are offering growers a great deal in fruit trees and bushes, through their not-for-profit TREEmendous project. The trees etc will be delivered mid February and there are collection points in Ashurst and Lymington.

On offer are:

Apple trees £9

Pear trees £12

Mulberry Trees £17

Blueberry Bush £9

All are traditional varieties and all trees are 1st or 2nd year saplings, suitable for small gardens.

If you’d like to order anything please email events@newforesttransition.org.uk or telephone 01590 675613.

Last date for orders: Friday 8th January, 2016

New Forest Food Challenge part of the Eat and Grow Local campaign recently received a lovely thank you letter from Applemore College.

To help them get set up with their garden last year, using money from the budget last year, a few essential gardening items were purchased.

Click here to read the thank you letter.

Brand New Forest is proud to support and sponsor the New Forest Food Challenge. A very busy 2014 saw them work in partnership with a number of local groups including Milford Food Week, Minstead Study Centre, St Thomas Church Lymington and New Forest Marque members either helping, supporting or running 17 local events including seed swaps, apple days, children’s seed planting, smoothie making and Ready Steady Cook local using a kitchen theatre!

Community gardens were set up in New Milton and Minstead Study Centre with support from local schools to encourage more residents to “grow local” and in the autumn, free onion and garlic sets were given to 12 schools.

2014 also saw the New Forest Food Challenge assist in the development of the local food trail leaflets along with the help from Brand New Forest, the New Forest National Park Authority and New Forest Marque. Find out more about the Food Trail Leaflets.

5 Fun Food challenges have been set for 2015 which includes eating more locally produced food. Read more on what the 5 challenges entail.

More information on the Brand New Forest Eat and Grow Local campaign.