Hello Folks,
Covid-19 update
We shared our big update with you last week, so read it here if you missed it. There’s lots of useful info in there. The latest Locavore-wide Covid-19 update is here. We do have a few updates for this week, though, and we ask that you read them carefully.
- Please shop considerately: new guidelines
We really need you to be considerate when using the Online Veg Box Shop. We have orders coming in and so do our suppliers: our usual supply lines are open. But we are struggling with the increased demand both because we have limited room to store stock, and because our orders are all packed by hand in one warehouse and delivered by hardworking drivers in their own vehicles. We’re working to adapt to the increased demand, but for the meantime we’ve had to introduce some rules for using the Online Veg Box Shop. If you don’t follow these guidelines, we won’t be able to fulfil the order, and your entire Online Veg Box shop order will be refunded. You will still receive your regular subscriptions as usual. As always, if you’re in an exceptional circumstance that makes following these rules difficult or impossible please get in touch and we can try our best to make an exception. Here are the new rules:- No more than 2 of any item
- 1 box of eggs per customer
- 1 pack of toilet roll per customer
- 1 passata per customer
- No more than 6 tins in total
- New items on the Online Veg Box Shop!
We’re working on bringing more everyday essentials to our Online Veg Box Shop to help you get what you need during this difficult time. There should be more on there every week. This week, we’re pleased to have the following new items avaliable:- Tinned Pan Do Mar white tuna loins
- Tinned Pan Do Mar sardines
- Tinned Pan Do Mar mackrel
- Locavore passata
- Dried chickpeas
- Suspending monthly specials except Meat Box
We’ve had to make the difficult decision to suspend the monthly special boxes for April, with the exception of the meat boxes, which are going ahead as usual so we can help support Peelham’s and The meat for April has already been ordered, so email now to get the May meat box.
- We’re here
It’s incredibly busy for us at the moment. We’ve got the maximum number of sign-ups every week until May, we’ve never had so many emails coming in, we’re working hard to adapt and get better quickly to cope with the increased demand. It might take us a while to get back to your email, but we’re here, and we will get back to you.
The Nice Bit
So I’m working from home, and I’m social distancing, so I’m not going out much. And since things are a little harder to get hold of right now as the whole country stocks up, I’m also trying to make the most of what I have in. And this has all led to a lot of cooking inspiration! My kitchen table is a desk now, which is difficult for dinner time (though let’s be real, we were eating pasta in front of The Good Place long before Covid-19) but makes it easy to put some beans on to bubble. I’ve been doing all those time-consuming culinary exercises that generally seem like too much bother for a weeknight dinner (like cooking beans from dry or making stock) that now seem like the best way to spend my time: turning a cupboard of staples (and the contents of a vegbox) into as many delicious and comforting meals for my household as possible. In that spirit I have a book recommendation which has helped me get every little bit of deliciousness from my ingredients and to make meals that are thrifty, but do not taste like it. An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler has been invaluable in my cosy semi-quarantined kitchen, and a brilliant veg box companion. Last night I turned Locavore leeks and a couple of flavourful Bagthorpe Farm onions into a mujadara with the basmati and brown lentils from the pulse box. It feels like magic for something so delicious to come from so little. Now is a time for clever cooking, taking joy and comfort from making the most of simple, good quality ingredients.
Flowers
The beautiful, locally-grown, bee-friendly flowers our wonderful Kim grows are available on the Online Veg box shop or by subscription. They bring the scents of spring into your home, and are the prettiest way to cheer up. Email us for a dose of flowers with your veg box every week (or every other week).
Complete a survey and you could win £20!
Over the last few weeks we’ve been updating you with surveys asking about your journey to our shop, or your views on social media, and we’ve mentioned that these are a build up to a bigger survey which is coming down the tracks. Well, it’s here, and we’d love it if you could take part.
In (an organic) nutshell, the aim of this survey is to explore customer relationships with Locavore – what makes you choose us over other businesses, how that works for you, and more general thoughts about how you feel about food and your community.
You can find more details about the Impacts project here, and the survey is available to complete here. It’s a bit longer than the surveys we’ve sent before, so you might want to make a cup of tea before you start; As a thank you for taking part we’ll be drawing one lucky contestant to receive a £20 Locavore gift card when the survey closes.
Good Food Fund
If you’re in a position to, please consider donating to our Good Food Fund, which supports food banks and other schemes that fight food poverty. You can donate weekly by emailing us to add a donation onto your subscription, or you can make one-off donations on the Online Veg Box Shop. It’s important to look out for everyone in times like these.
Monthly Specials
You can learn more about our monthly special boxes here.
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 for lots of tips, tricks, and recipe ideas.
To contact us, ring 0141 378 1672 or email us at subscribers@glasgowlocavore.org
In the veg boxes this week:
Subject to last minute changes
| Small veg box | Farm | Organic Certifier |
| Potatoes (Carolus) | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Onions | Bagthorpe Farm | Soil Association |
| Carrots | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Kale | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Mushrooms | Orchard Organics, Armagh | Soil Association |
| Standard veg box | Farm | Organic Certifier |
| Potatoes (Carolus) | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Onions | Bagthorpe Farm | Soil Association |
| Carrots | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Swede | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Leeks | Pollybell Farms | Soil Association |
| Kale | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Mushrooms | Orchard Organics, Armagh | Soil Association |
| Large veg box | Farm | Organic Certifier |
| Potatoes (Carolus) | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Onions | Bagthorpe Farm | Soil Association |
| Carrots | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Swede | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Savoy cabbage | Royal Oak, Scarisbrick | Soil Association |
| Kale | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Mushrooms | Orchard Organics, Armagh | Soil Assocation |
| Claytonia | Locavore Left Field | Soil Association |
| Extra Large veg box | Farm | Organic Certifier |
| Potatoes (Carolus) | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Onions | Bagthorpe Farm | Soil Association |
| Carrots | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Swede | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Savoy cabbage | Royal Oak, Scarisbrick | Soil Association |
| Leeks | Pollybell Farms | Soil Association |
| Purple sprouting broccoli | Sampson, Cornwall | Soil Association |
| Kale | Chapel Farm | Soil Association |
| Mushrooms | Orchard Organics, Armagh | Soil Association |
| Small fruit bag | Farm / Origin | Organic Certifier |
| Gala apples | Mole End, East Sussex | Soil Association |
| Navel oranges | Spain | Caae |
| Lemons | Italy | Demeter |
| Medium fruit bag | Farm / Origin | Organic Certifier |
| Gala apples | Mole End, East Sussex | Soil Association |
| Navel oranges | Spain | Caae |
| Lemons | Italy | Demeter |
| Large fruit bag | Farm / Origin | Organic Certifier |
| Gala apples | Mole End, East Sussex | Soil Association |
| Navel oranges | Spain | Caae |
| Lemons | Italy | Demeter |
| Bananas | Dominican Republic | BCS |
| Extra large fruit bag | Farm / Origin | Organic Certifier |
| Gala apples | Mole End, East Sussex | Soil Association |
| Navel oranges | Spain | Caae |
| Lemons | Italy | Demeter |
| Bananas | Dominican Republic | BCS |
| Small supplementary veg | Origin | Organic Certifier |
| Broccoli | Spain | Caae |
| Garlic | Spain | Caae |
| Standard supplementary veg | Origin | Organic Certifier |
| Broccoli | Spain | Caae |
| Garlic | Spain | Caae |
Enjoy!
The Locavore Team