TTT Food Group Meeting - Minutes
Monday 2nd November 2008

Update on current projects

Seed Swap
Autumn Glorius Glut Gig was held in a cottage garden in Bridgetown, on a beautiful sunny day in October.  Some lovely glut swaps took place with veg, cakes etc, and workshops were held on seed saving and a gardener’s question time. 

The Seedy Sisters are already planning the next Seed Swap, for 21st February, to be held in Birdwood House. 

Nut Trees
Plans continue for more nut trees to be planted out in Totnes this winter.  We are inviting everyone to suggest green patches in Totnes and the surrounding area, large or small, on which a tree or three can be planted.  Please send your suggestions for planting sites to wendystayte@yahoo.co.uk. Also exploring possibilities for future funding, with some interesting suggestions e.g. residents funding nut trees on their streets, nut trees as gifts etc

Tree Guardians and anyone interested in getting involved in the nut tree project, are invited to an evening for roasting chestnuts and talking through nut plans, on Tuesday 11th October, in the Weston Lane playing field, Bridgetown, 6pm.  If it’s raining, we shall be indoors in a house overlooking the park – look out for the balloon on the gate!

Discussed ideas for TTT decorating a Christmas tree for the Christmas market, including bringing children and adults together to create Christmas decorations on the theme of TTT and having a nut tree instead as our Christmas tree.

Food Guide
The 2nd edition of the food guide has been out since the spring, it has been available to buy in the shops.  We are having a meeting to discuss new opportunities and next strategies to promote it, on Tuesday 19th November.  Contact Noni to find out more: noni-m@supanet.com

Garden Share Project
Some of you may have seen the intensive media coverage this project has been getting recently, including on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage programme.  It seems that this project has really captured lots of people’s imagination, and media interest has come from many angles – cheap food, building community, access to land, etc etc. So huge congratulations to everyone involved, and particular thanks for Lou’s hard work, “matchmaking” between garden owners and gardeners, which has proven to be key to the project’s success.

Responsible Fish Restaurants
A number of restaurants in Totnes have joined this initiative, and have patiently shared detailed information about the fish they require and their flexibility.  We are working with experts from the Responsible Fish Restaurants initiative (set up by Caroline, a London sushi chain owner with family in Totnes, and Malcolm, a marine ecologist who has worked with Greenpeace and WWF.)

This summer, the project was to start by linking restaurants to a crab fisherman approved by Malcolm… But we have experienced delays.  First of all the fisherman had a cataract operation, then Malcolm had a bad back… After all these delays, Malcolm is finally due to go out on the boat soon!  So we will keep you informed of developments, and let you know when the project is ready to launch.  We are grateful for the patience of those involved so far.

Fish is a very complicated and political business!  But it is exciting to note that Brixham fishermen have been in discussions about the future of the fishing industry, and agree that they want Brixham to become a beacon of sustainability, and a byword for sustainable fish.  So we hope there will be plenty of chances to strengthen this work. 

Food & Health Community Garden
This project has moved very quickly, and there are already plans for a site. The project will be linked to the Leatside surgery to bring out the health benefits of a community garden, where people can grow vegetables and herbs.  Lots of academic and professional research is going into making this a pioneering model for community, health, re-skilling and training.   There are plans for an on-site café. 

Funds are currently being sought to purchase the land.  There are hopes that the community garden will form the central hub, with possible future satellite gardens in the area.  Once the site is secured, it will be open to public involvement.  We hope to have news to announce by the end of the year.

Upcoming events

Food, Farming and Forestry Network – 12th November.
Representatives of groups working on food, farming and forestry are invited to form a network to engage with the Totnes Strategy Group on the issues that affect us.  The first meeting will be on Wed 12th November, 7pm in the Guildhall, and will discuss issues such as the recent closure of the Totnes Farmers’ Market, and what we can do.  TTT Food Group will be represented, along with other community groups.

Food and Health Open Space Day – 22nd November.
Please come along to the Civic Hall for this exciting opportunity to contribute your ideas to the future activities and thinking of the Food and Health groups, on Saturday 22nd November 11am-3pm.  Back in 2006, the Food Open Space day gave rise to many of the projects that we have undertaken since – so this is a great chance to get involved. 

Energy Descent Plan (EDP) Workshop  - 29th November.
Please come along to the EDP future scenarios workshop on Food, Farming, Biodiversity & Water, on the 29th November, 2.30 – 4.30, at the Methodist Church.

This will be a chance to take the next steps for building an Energy Descent Plan for Totnes to reduce our dependence on oil.  The project will be introduced, and we will creatively vision what we want to see in Totnes’ future.  This will then inform the next session on 26th January, when we will backcast from the vision, and discuss how we can make our dreams a reality.  Please do come and share your vision, ideas and excitement!

Developing Resilience Indicators – 2nd December
The Food Group will hold a meeting on Monday 2nd December, at the TTT Office, to discuss and develop indicators that can help us to measure our success in achieving resilience in our food supply. 

Next Food Group Meeting - Tuesday 20th January
Please join us at 7pm in the TTT office.

Upcoming Projects

Local Food Web Mapping
Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) are piloting a project in Totnes, which we hope will complement TTT’s work on local food.  This will take place from November to March.  Jenny Gellatly is leading the project, and is inviting volunteers to get involved with the project, to map local food webs and networks in the area.  This will identify opportunities to expand and strengthen our local food systems, and the findings will be a model for projects in the rest of the country.

We will be holding a meeting on Monday December 8th at 7pm at the TTT Offices for those who are interested in finding out more and getting involved.   Please contact Jenny for more information about the project and to get involved  jenny_gellatly@hotmail.com

Leechwell Garden
This project is moving forward, with plans to start creating the garden soon.  Expertise in planning and designing the garden is wanted now, and your hands-on help will be wanted in the spring. 

More information that may interest food group members

http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/heartandsoul/mentoring
Mentoring opportunity for TTT Core group, Management group, project co-ordinators, TTNetwork staff  and office staff

You may be interested in attending the following event on 19th November: Real Food, Slow Food - Rethinking what we eat can be found.  http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/events/real-food-slow-food-rethinking-what-we-eat