"Belong Maccesfield opened its gardens to
members of the local community as part of National Allotments Week. The Belong
kitchen gardens are tended to by people living in the village, visiting
Experience Day customers and Belong staff.
Fruit and vegetables cultivated in
Belong Macclesfield and harvested during allotments week were then served in
themed special dishes in the village Bistro throughout August. Gardening not
only serves to provide homegrown food for people living within the village, it
also provides a focus for social interactions and an opportunity to engage in
gentle exercise.
A Gardening Club for residents meets at Belong Macclesfield
every Friday afternoon, from 2:45pm until 3:15pm. The club has been running for
over two years, under the supervision of Philip Shaw, founder of Fork-2-Plate, a
local business aimed at helping people to grow and cook their own food in
Cheshire, and a member of the community group, Food4Macc, which aims to have
more food produced locally in Macclesfield.
Caroline Ray, General Manager for
Belong Macclesfield, said: "There has been great interest in our 'home grown'
project, both from those who have had a lifelong interest in gardening to
residents just looking to get involved in a new hobby or spend more time
outdoors,
"I've seen so many wonderful foods coming into our kitchens, from lettuces and beans to fresh strawberries and raspberries. It gives us great satisfaction to eat fruit and vegetables that we've grown ourselves,"
"I've seen so many wonderful foods coming into our kitchens, from lettuces and beans to fresh strawberries and raspberries. It gives us great satisfaction to eat fruit and vegetables that we've grown ourselves,"
