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Find out about growing Organic and notice of our AGM

We’ve invited local organic farmer John Davenport to tell us about his experiences as a food grower with 40 years’ experience, following our short AGM on Monday 22nd May at 6pm at the Burgage Hall, Church Lane, Ledbury.

John Davenport

“Why eat Green?  The benefits and challenges of growing organic”

You may know John as the man behind Little Marcle Organic Produce, farming near Ledbury and providing a weekly veg-box service to the local community.

John is an early adopter of sustainable ways of using technology – delivering his produce in a battery powered van and exploring non-carbon power supply options.

John will be happy to take questions after his talk.

Before John’s talk:-

AGM of Ledbury Food Group for the year 2022/23

Notice is given that this meeting will be held at 6pm on Monday 22nd May at the Burgage Hall, Church Lane, Ledbury.

(Nearest off street parking – St Katherine’s Car Park)

  1. Apologies
  2. Report from the Secretary
  3. Report from the Treasurer
  4. Approval of Accounts for the period to 31st March 2023
  5. Election of a Committee for the year 2023 to 2024
  6. Election of Officials for the year 2023 to 2024 – Chair, Secretary, Treasurer
  7. Any other business

Please advise me –

a) If you wish to stand for a committee member or official of Ledbury Food Group. Please note that Committee Members and Officials must be members of the Food Group 

b) If you have Any Other Business that you wish to raise at this meeting

Griff Holliday, Secretary – 01531 633637  

griffholliday@btinternet.com

4th May 2023

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The Big Apple Blossomtime in Putley

The parishes of the Marcle Ridge’s seasonal celebration of orchards, apples, cider and perry takes place on Sunday 30th April and Monday 1st May.

There’s lots of “appley” things for you to join in and celebrate the rather late this year coming of Spring.

Putley Blossom

It’s a special opportunity to enjoy the lovely countryside and orchards of the Marcle Ridge in Herefordshire, where local orchards are famous both for their cider fruit and their dessert and culinary fruit.

The events take place over two days around Putley Parish Hall, where you will find an array of traditional ciders and perries from Herefordshire and surrounding counties, together with some of the makers for you to meet, and, on Sunday only, at Court Farm Aylton, where you can spend time in the cruck barn and amongst the apple trees.

Blossomtime is not just for cider enthusiasts. Enjoy a walk through the orchards around Putley and Aylton, with or without a guide, then refresh yourselves with excellent homemade food. Plan your day to include one or two of our special events, including some at alternative nearby locations.

The full programme is available at https://www.bigapple.org.uk/blossomtime-putley/.

Events centre – Putley Parish Hall – Putley Green – HR8 2QN – Car Parking.

 

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Ledbury Celebration 2023 – A Date for your Diary

Ledbury Food Group with its partners Ledbury Poetry Festival and Ledbury  Town Council invite you to join us at this year’s Ledbury Celebration on Sunday 9th July.

This year’s event will again be held in the historic setting of St Katherine’s, Ledbury by our very special 15th century Master’s House – it worked well in 2022!  The event will include (subject to confirmation):

  • An outdoor food and drink market featuring the best of local produce and street food from the Three Counties for you to enjoy at the event or take home. We hope for as good a show as last time when 25 local vendors took part.
  • “Al fresco” poetic entertainment provided by Ledbury Poetry as part of their festival
  • Outdoor musical entertainment featuring local musicians
  • Several craft stalls

It’s the last day of Ledbury Poetry Festival so there’s lots going on, and the town’s heritage buildings will be open for a visit.

The event will run from 11am to 4pm with entertainment from 12 noon.

As in previous years the Ledbury Celebration will be a free public event thanks to grant funding by benefactors.

If you are a locally based food producer or local street-food vendor using local produce and are interested in a stall at the event please contact our organiser Emma Jackson at ledburycelebration@gmail.com.

Please contact us if you would like to help us setting up, stewarding or setting down after the event – Griff at 01531 633637.   Your help makes these events smooth-running and successful – even an hour or two helps.

More information about the food market, other attendees, performers and the performance schedule will be available on our website nearer the event.

Ledbury Poetry Ledbury Town Council Logo

Alice's market Garden Produce
Alice presents the produce of her Market Garden
Emma the poet
Emma the Poet tells of dangers lurking on the M48

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A Happy New Year … And the Ledbury Big Breakfast 2023

Our popular event – the Ledbury Big Breakfast takes place this year on Friday 27th, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January.  

We ask local shops, cafes, hotels and other food outlets to come up with special breakfast offerings featuring locally produced food to brighten a winter’s day.

Breakfasts can be big or small, traditional or invented to be enjoyed in our local eating places or taken home for enjoyment.  Many outlets will provide vegan, vegetable and gluten free options – please check.

Full details of those taking part, their special offerings and which days these will be on sale will be available on this website  from mid-January.

These will include “old favourites” such as the Malthouse Cafe, Market House Café, Organic Café, Seven Stars, the Nest, Wallers and Gurneys butchers’ shops, Ceci Paolo, Pot and Page, Janey’s and the Scrumpy House at Weston’s Cider.  Ledbury Country Market will be open on Friday.

In the past things have been busy particularly on the Saturday – many venues will take reservations to make things easier.  Some are open on the Sunday.

Put a note in your diary to enjoy a scrumptious Ledbury breakfast!

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Ledbury Food Bank – your help is appreciated!

One of our aims for last weekend’s Ledbury Big Soup was to raise awareness of the work of Ledbury Food Bank.

Mark Lister from the Food Bank has provided the following update…

Founded in 2012 to provide emergency food and support at St Katherine’s Hall, over 70 volunteers are now delivering the Food Bank’s services from an industrial unit at Homend Trading Estate, near Ledbury Railway Station to which it moved in 2021.

The new premises allow for more flexibility and capacity for service delivery and is open on Wednesday and Friday from 10am to midday. We are now also open each Thursday evening between 6.00 and 8.00pm.

People needing the Food Bank’s help (clients) may be referred there by local agencies, but can seek help directly by phone or in person when the Food Bank is open.  Clients’ needs are assessed and they are given a shopping list from which they can pick from a range of regularly stocked items (food and household), which is then made up for them.  They can also select other items not on the list including seasonal fruit and vegetables and other donated food.

But it’s more than just food.  The Food Bank’s skilled coordinator staff will check to see if other help can be provided to the client.  This could be assistance in sorting out non-receipt of the correct state benefits, debt advice, budgeting, housing advice and addressing fuel insecurity.  The Food Bank links with other local support agencies to help people from reaching a crisis point, and make sure they can afford the essentials like food.

At the same time the Food Bank offers a safe and welcoming hub where people can meet and perhaps share a breakfast. The food bank is also now a Warm Space. It is open each Wednesday and Friday between 12.00 and 4.00 for anyone to spend some time in a warm environment over the winter.

Mark Lister said ‘These are very worrying times for many people, the food bank is here to try and help remove some of the stress for people struggling with the rising cost of living’.

How can we help?

Donating food – use the collection points at the Co-op, Tesco and One Stop or schemes run by local churches or businesses.

Donating produce – contact the Food Bank if you have a surplus of seasonal fruit or veg from your garden or allotment.  It will be a welcome addition to what’s on offer.

Donating money – Money is used to keep up the stock of staple items, for running costs and for professional services, including advice services – the Food Bank has over 50 regular donors, and one off gifts always help. You can give online, by standing order (ask for bank details) or in person.

Donating time – contact the Food Bank if you can help as a volunteer.  There are many ways you can get involved.

Contact Details

Phone: 07581 283092

Email: food@ledburyfoodbank.org

In Person: Unit 1, Homend Trading Estate, Ledbury HR8 1AR

Opening Hours: Wednesday and Friday 10am to midday, Thursday evenings between 6pm and 8pm.

Website: www.ledburyfoodbank.org (online donations)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And now… The Ledbury Big Soup

Soup is a great food for Autumn and Winter.  We are inviting local food shops, hotels, cafes and butchers to tempt you with their best offerings in the Ledbury Big Soup being held on Saturday 26th November. 

More than 15 local businesses will be taking part and the format will be like the Ledbury Big Breakfast.  There will be soups to eat in or take out, and food shops will have the ingredients for you to create your own soup at home.  We will have recipes available for you to experiment.

Businesses will be offering their normal fare as well, and some may be serving soup on Sunday 27th November for the Ledbury Christmas Lights switch on.

Remembering the increasing needs of our Ledbury community, businesses taking part are being asked to make a contribution in cash or food to Ledbury Food Bank

Details of who is offering what and when will be available at this website from early November. 

Soups made with local seasonal produce are just the kind of sustainable and nourishing foods that the recently published Herefordshire Food Charter encourages us to eat.

Find out more about the charter and how you can sign up to it at https://herefordshirefoodcharter.org.uk/

Come along to the Food Group’s stall in the Charter Market on Saturday 19th November from 9am to 1pm to find out more about local food.

Ledbury Food Bank will be there to tell you how you can help them to help the community

Good souping!

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Ledbury Celebration on 10th July – full programme available

The Ledbury Celebration on Sunday 10th July celebrates the local food and drink of Herefordshire and its neighbouring counties with an added menu of music, poetry and our historic heritage.


This year’s event brings an outdoor market to historic St Katherine’s, Ledbury next to the 15th century Master’s House, and just off the High Street. The event runs from 11am to 5pm with entertainment from midday.

Local produce will be on sale either to eat and drink “on the go” or to take home to savour in slower time.

Producers this year include:

• Case for Cooking
• Chock Shop
• Gun Dog Gin
• Hay Charcuterie
• Jus
• Kitchen Flowers
• Kontext Koffee
• Little Bento Box
• Little Marcle Organic Produce
• Miniyaki’s Japanese Street Food
• Myrtle’s Kitchen
• No Frickin Chicken
• Orchard Grove Preserves
• Rayeesa’s Indian Kitchen
• Seb’s Cider
• Tuston Market Garden
• Vicenta’s Empanadas
• Wykeham Gardens

In addition you will find:

• Sustainable Ledbury – find out about avoiding food waste
• Jayne Parry Ceramics
• Karen Tacey Ceramics
• CUP Ceramics – Pottery demonstrations
• Kid’s Kitchen – food activities for younger children
• Eat like your Ancestors

Ledbury Poetry Festival has lined up special “al fresco” poetic performances during the event featuring:

• Dave Pitt – “Now more than ever, our world needs the raw anger of poets like Dave. Importantly, we also need the laughs he brings”
• Emma Purshouse –“Her talent is in taking the most mundane situations and bringing them alive.”
• Leena Batchelor – Pixie Muse – “Calling herself a “poetic minstrel with living in her veins”, Leena writes passionately about everything that strikes her mind and heart”

Poetry performances at 12.45pm, 1.45pm and 2.45pm


And More…

Beth Calverley, will be present with her magical Poetry Machine. This is your chance to experience poetry, created in response to your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and discoveries.

And a feast of musical entertainment…

Performances hourly:

• Ledbury Community Choir – Ledbury’s own massed voices. Join in if you know the words (and the tune! At 12 noon.
• Keith Baldwin, guitarist and singer, frontman of the band Rubble, will entertain from 1.10pm.
• The Ledbury Singers will serenade you with their own smooth music style from 2pm.
• One-of-a-kind Voices Unlimited – rocking out their unmistakable “VU Wall of Sound” raises the tempo at 3pm.
• Gruig, a rip roaring foot stomping band from Gloucestershire bring their sing-along Irish songs, jigs and reels to get you dancing at 4pm.

A special event at 1pm – Ledbury’s Community Art Project, “The Tale of the Bird and the Tree”, will reach its conclusion when the Bird will take flight and soar over to join the Tree accompanied by music.

And you can visit Ledbury’s heritage sites, or book in for a session of poetry with Ledbury Poetry Festival on the last day of the festival.

This event is organised by Ledbury Food Group in partnership with Ledbury Poetry, Ledbury Fringe and Ledbury Town Council.