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Devon - Wendy Quick(also including Somerset)Vice-Chairman: Connie Hartnell
Other events being considered are a visit to the Marsh Barton re-cycling plant; a lunchtime visit to Farms for City Children; a visit to Exeter Cathedral; a visit and lunch at Riverford Organic Farm; a visit to Star Cross Veterinary laboratory followed by lunch at Powderham; an agricultural forum in the spring (hopefully March 2009)) with some prospective parliamentary candidates. Programme for the rest of 2006 Women Working Together - a history, April 2006 Women Working TogetherA POWERFUL body of women have put their might behind the Western Morning News' Buy Local campaign with a project to reach out to the smallest of local food producers.Over the past few months, Women Working Together has summoned help from the Devon members of its three organisations - the Women's Institute, the Townswomen's Guild and the Women's Food and Farming Union - in its latest Buy Local venture. Working with the Western Morning News, it has undertaken an extensive mailshot of all its members to ask women to identify the local food outlets in their areas. The replies coming back name not only those shops and markets already selling well, but have found some "hidden secrets" in the countryside. While it will be some time yet before the database is fully operational, it is hope that it will eventually become a much-used source of information for those in the home and small catering businesses in the vicinity of those listed. All small catering outlets will, over the coming months, be invited to join the WMN Buy Local campaign as Jeff Chef establishments. WWT's Alexis Swain said "The potential uses for this list are endless. We envisage it becoming a source of information for bed-and-breakfast owners and other similar businesses that want to buy local but don't know where to begin. Many of them will rely on their local supermarket without realising that such a wealth of local produce is readily available on their doorstep. The aim is to have a database that will enable people to search through their local town or post code. The database will be regularly updated and information sent out to all three organisations to keep their members informed. This way we hope that we shall all be playing a significant part in helping our farmers and other food producers to sustain our well-loved countryside" WWT Chairman, Claire Crouch adds that "We hope we can encourage parents only to buy and cook locally-produced food to ensure the health of their children and reduce the problem of obesity. Women have 'Handbag Power', as WWT states in their profile." This project was warmly supported by HRH the Prince of Wales in a letter sent to their meeting last autumn at Exeter University. The database is held by WWT Secretary Ann Cross and those wishing to find out about their local food producers and retailers, as well as Country Markets (formerly WI Markets), pannier markets, farmers' markets and livestock markets in their areas should contact her by fax: 01398 361 212, or telephone her on that number if they have no fax machine. www.wfu.org.uk |
