American perspective on some innovative UK food projects
By Ben Brangwyn 5th June 2010
Sent in by Kenrick Chin from Dundas in Transition in Canada, this article weaves a story around visits to Wales, Oxford and London by a US-based food writer and activist, Mark Winne.
Winne finds many inspiration projects in his whistlestop tour, showing how determined innovation can really make a difference to our carbon emissions around food and rebuild local resilience around supplying and processing it.
Check out a couple of excerpts below or read the whole article.
Oxford
“Amidst the most ancient of scholastic buildings and Oxford’s venerable grounds, I spoke to 60 local foodies in the equally sainted Vault and Garden Café (local, organic, and the site of Oxfam’s founding). A range of community food activists, farmers, gardeners, and whip-smart college students, loosely led by the wife-husband team of Ruth West and Colin Trudge, are trying to form a local food hub.”
Brixton
“… I was most intrigued by two women in the group who were community activists. Susan Steed works in Brixton, a hardscrabble working class section of London where she oversees the Brixton Pound project. Like our local currency projects in such places as Ithaca and the Berkshires that value local goods and services for barter and exchange purposes, the Brixton Pound supports local businesses, community connections, and a smaller carbon footprint. Unlike these rarefied U.S. communities, Brixton is a rough and tumble place with a reputation for sticking it to the man on occasion (think “The Guns of Brixton” by the Clash). The image on the Brixton Pound, set against a decidedly inner-city landscape, is of a bull-horn toting young black man rousting the community to action.”
Cardiff
“I had the distinct privilege of spending the day with two fine Cardiff-men, Steven Garrett and Professor Kevin Morgan, both of whom stand tall in the growing world of Welsh food consciousness. Garrett – long-haired, black-bereted, and a self-described “child of the sixties” – is one of those special cats who can get away with starting trouble because he has so much charm and integrity. He runs the Riverside Community Market Association which is responsible for operating several farmers’ markets, developing urban gardens including a brand new 10-acre city youth farm, and generally agitating for a healthy and sustainable Cardiff food system.”
Definitely worth reading the full article.