Hello Folks,

It’s October! Well, as I write this it is almost October, which is good enough. I love October: the leaves crisping and crunching as I wander through the park, the nights drawing in like a heavy duvet, the actual heavy duvet coming out from the cupboard- and the veg! October’s a rather veg-focused month. We might look forward to March asparagus or July sweetcorn, but we don’t buy asparagus fairy lights (I would though, please send a link if you know where I can buy them). The pumpkin with its orange glow is special. But I’d like to call for appreciating all squash as iconic, not just the giant orange ones. After all, the smaller, knobblier ones are tastier, and they look just as spooky in the candle light. We posted a recipe last week on our website for a squash and chickpea dish, and as some boxes this week feature acorn squash, you have another opportunity to try it.

This week’s boxes feature the very last of the Locavore Left Field celery. It comes in such abundance that it can be hard to remember that we will miss it in the winter months. One nifty idea is to finely chop celery, carrots, and onions, and freeze them mixed together, portioned out in reusable containers. This can be used to cook up sofrito through the winter, a tasty base for minestrones, ragus, risottos and stews.

We’re also very happy to see broccoli in the boxes this week, and there’ll be a recipe going up on Friday to celebrate this rather underrated greenery. As always, please keep us up to date on what you’re cooking! You can email us, post in our Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram.

Here’s the important part of the email, choc-a-block with news! We’re sad to say that we won’t be opening the Open Food Network shop again this week. We need just a little more time to sort it all out, but it looks like it will be open again next week, so if I were you I’d start daydreaming about all the beans I was going to order. Sorry about the inconvenience of this, and thank you everyone for your continued understanding.

I know there was a problem last week with some hummus orders. The hummus will be back in deliveries this week, and, drumroll please: we can now take hummus packaging away with your old boxes (like honey jars or milk bottles)! The hummus pots are Vegware, a compostable plastic made from plants, but they can’t be composted domestically, and it’s been unclear whether local councils accept them in food waste. We know this was a concern for a lot of you, so we’re pleased to say that we’re now part of the Vegware closed loop, so vegware packaging can be brought to Locavore for composting, and we can take hummus pots.

Check out storage guidance here for helpful tips and tricks on how to prolong the life of your fresh produce. If you’re wondering where your veg comes from, have a look at these maps. You can also join your fellow subscribers over in the Facebook group and check out our Veggiepedia!

In the veg boxes this week:

Subject to last minute changes

Small veg box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes	Chapel Farm	SA
Carrots	Mcleods Organics	SA
Savoy Cabbage	Chapel Farm	SA
Mixed Chard (rainbow, swiss & white)	Locavore, Left Field	SA

Standard veg box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes	Chapel Farm	SA
Onions	Chapel Farm	SA
Carrots	Mcleods Organics	SA
Savoy Cabbage	Chapel Farm	SA
Sweetcorn	Strawberry Fields	SA
Kale	Pollybell Farm	SA
Broccoli	Yorkshire	SA

Large veg box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes	Chapel Farm	SA
Onions	Chapel Farm	SA
Carrots	Mcleods Organics	SA
Acorn Squash	Strawberry Fields	SA
Savoy Cabbage	Chapel Farm	SA
Celery	Locavore, Left Field	SA
Mixed Chard (rainbow, swiss & white)	Locavore, Left Field	SA
Broccoli	Pollybell Farms	SA
Oakleaf Green Salad	Strawberry Fields	SA

Extra Large veg box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes	Chapel Farm	SA
Onions	Chapel Farm	SA
Carrots	Macleods Organics	SA
Acorn Squash	Strawberry Fields	SA
Savoy Cabbage	Chapel Farm	SA
Cauliflower	Polybell Farm	SA
Celery	Locavore, Left Field	SA
Mixed Chard (rainbow, swiss & white)	Locavore, Left Field	SA
Broccoli	Pollybell Farm	SA
Little Gem Lettuce	Strawberry Fields	SA

Small fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Russet Apples	Oakwood Farm	SA
Onward Pears	Carey Organics (Hereford)	SA
Bananas	Dominican Republic	Ifoam

Medium fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Russet Apples	Oakwood Farm	SA
Onward Pears	Carey Organics (Hereford)	SA
Bananas	Dominican Republic	Ifoam

Large fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Russet Apples	Oakwood Farm	SA
Onward Pears	Carey Organics (Hereford)	SA
Bananas	Dominican Republic	Ifoam
Clementines	Spain	Caae

Extra large fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Russet Apples	Oakwood Farm	SA
Onward Pears	Carey Organics (Hereford)	SA
Bananas	Dominican Republic	Ifoam
Clementines	Spain	Caae
Red Globe seedless grapes	Spain	Caae

Small supplementary veg	Origin	Organic Certifier
Cucumber- Midi	Locavore Left Field	SA
Lettuce- Mixed Leaves	Locavore, Left Field	SA
Coriander OR parley OR fennel (herb)	Locavore, Left Field

Standard supplementary veg	Origin	Organic Certifier
Sweet potatoes	Spain	Caae
Cucumber- Midi	Locavore, Left Field	SA
Chestnut mushrooms	Orchard Organics	SA
Lettuce- Mixed Leaves	Locavore, Left Field	SA

Enjoy!

The Locavore Team