Rhubarb Rhubarb

I’m very excited about the fruit bags this week! The delicious citrus from the winter is still going, with those delicious, flavourful grapefruits. I’ll be juicing my grapefruits and oranges and turning them into a simple granita to eat while watching the blue tits outside my kitchen window. And then we have the first nectarines, which are one of my favourite fruits- those I’ll eat with some feta cheese or parma ham, something salty for the contrast.

We also have lots of rhubarb in all the fruit bags, so plenty for crumbles or to stew, with lots of rich smooth homemade custard. Or you can get a little more imaginative with your ‘barb- a sweet and sour soup, or a rhubarb coleslaw to pair with fish, rhubarb pudding or cake, rhubarb sorbet– you can really experiment with it, as it has enough interest to stand up to whatever you want to do with it. With that, and of course its brilliant, joyful pink, this is a playful fruit, and I can’t wait to see what you make with it.

The veg from the UK is continuing to slowly broaden, with kale , spring onions, and chard from our own farm plus leeks and cauliflower from around the UK. Week by week it changes, slowly but speeding up, and every veg box contains a hint of what we’ll have in the high season when it arrives.

Flowers

Our flowers are temporarily suspended, as we’re in a sort of floral hunger gap, as the bulbs run out and spring sown annuals are not yet in bloom. We expect this to last about a month, so flowers should be back at the end of May or early in June.

Surveys

As you may have already seen on our social media channels, we are currently running an additional survey about the Covid-19 lockdown and our response to it. The survey is running as part of our Locavore Impacts project  and aims to find out more about the impact of the lockdown on our customers, as well as thoughts on how we have responded and suggestions for how else we might be able to help. If you have time to give us your thoughts and feedback you can find the survey here.  

If this gets you in the mood for something more substantial, the main customer survey is still open and available here  with a chance to win £20 in Locavore vouchers as a thank you taking part. 

Good Food Fund

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Good Food Fund over the past few weeks. It’s much needed and greatly appreciated.

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. 

This weeks Veg Box:

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 (maris peer)	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Carrots	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Leeks	Strawberry Fields, Lincolnshire	Soil Association
Mixed mushrooms	Orchard Organics, Armargh	Soil Association

Standard Veg Box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes (maris peer)	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Carrots	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Leeks	New Farm	Soil Association
White cabbage	Orchard Organics, Armargh	Soil Association
Asparagus	Bedlam Farms, Cambridgeshire	Soil Association

Large Veg Box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes (maris peer)	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Carrots	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Leeks	New Farm	Soil Association
Spring onions	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association
Kale (westland winter)	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association
Asparagus	Bedlam Farms, Cambridgeshire	Soil Association

X-Large Veg Box	Farm	Organic Certifier
Potatoes (maris peer)	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Carrots	Skea Organics, Dundee	Soil Association
Leeks	New Farm	Soil Association
Spring onions	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association
Kale (westland winter)	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association
Asparagus	Bedlam Farms, Cambridgeshire	Soil Association
Chard	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association
Parsley	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association

Fruit Bags & Supplementary Veg

Small fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Rhubarb	McCleod Organics, Inverness	Soil Association
Grapefruit	Spain	Caae

Medium fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Rhubarb	McCleod Organics, Inverness	Soil Association
Grapefruit	Spain	Caae
Apples (braeburn)	Italy	Ccpb

Large fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Rhubarb	McCleod Organics, Inverness	Soil Association
Oranges	Spain	Caae
Apples (braeburn)	Italy	Ccpb
Nectarines	Spain	Caae

X-large fruit bag	Farm / Origin	Organic Certifier
Rhubarb	McCleod Organics, Inverness	Soil Association
Oranges	Spain	Caae
Apples (braeburn)	Italy	Ccpb
Nectarines	Spain	Caae
Grapefruit	Spain	Caae

Small supplementary veg	Origin	Organic Certifier
Courgettes	Spain	Caae
Red peppers	Spain	Caae

Standard supplementary veg	Origin	Organic Certifier
Courgettes	Spain	Caae
Tomatoes	The Tomato Stall, Isle of Wight	Soil Association
Parlsey	Locavore Left Field	Soil Association

Enjoy!

The Locavore Team