Lewes District Food Partnership is delighted to introduce Holly, a student at the University of Sussex, who has joined us for her Global Work Experience placement. Throughout Good Food East Sussex month, Holly has been coming along to different events, workshops and drop-ins. In this guest post, Holly reports back from the iconic Lewes FC Community Garden at the Dripping Pan, for their Grow Cook Eat Compost workshop. This workshop was part of an ongoing collaboration between Diversity Lewes, Feel Good Food, Compost Club and Lewes FC.
I got to visit a Grow Cook Eat Compost event on the 8th of October run by Lucie (Feel Good Food) and Michael (Compost Club) which engaged with community and food sustainability by encouraging eating seasonal produce and growing your own food.
The event began with us all sitting by the microscope and examining some premium soil provided by Michael. We got to understand what in our soil helps food to grow and what soil that is not nutritious looks like. We were even lucky enough to see some bacteria moving around! By examining the soil in person we got to connect what we read online and books to what we can see in real life. This also helped encourage sustainable eating as by understanding how soil works, we are more likely to produce a better harvest- a
motivating experience.
Secondly, we headed out into the allotments and looked at the remaining vegetables ready for harvest. We all were able to get our hands in and pick different ingredients for our cooking session to follow. By being out in the allotments we got to experience the different components that all are involved in growing good food. This made for an educational experience.
Finally, we went back inside to begin our cooking. With the help of Lucie, we were able to cook a delicious soup using the fresh ingredients we had picked from the allotment. This showed how easy it was to incorporate fresh ingredients into a meal that was healthy and enjoyable. We then enjoyed some apple cake that we also cooked together, emphasising how “unhealthy” food can still be nutritious!
This event was an extremely valuable insight into how regular community events can introduce sustainability and nutritional food into people’s everyday lives in an accessible way
Lewes FC Community garden has open volunteer sessions on Fridays, get in touch with tony@diversitylewes.org.uk to find out more.