Action In Rural Sussex

Food & Local Products

Why is Food important?

Access to a healthy diet, like access to decent housing, or education, or recreation facilities is one of the basic elements defining a reasonable standard of living. Food production and food distribution also have a direct role in determining the quality of the environment and the resilience of the economy in rural areas.

Action in rural Sussex is committed to supporting a sustainable food system – one which delivers benefits for consumers, farmers, food processors, outlets and the environment. Our work focuses on strengthening the links between farmers and consumers and outlets (shops and markets mainly), equipping people with the skills to make better informed decisions about what they eat and where they source their food, and supporting smaller scale producers to make the most of local markets

Our Work

A wide range of projects have been undertaken by Action in rural Sussex in relation to food and local produce in pursuit of our aims. These have primarily focused on the promotion of local produce through various publications and resources, assisting and co-ordinating local produce ventures and educating people in how ingredients are generated locally and may be used in producing food.

These have recently included:

Local Produce Directories
Village Food Activities (Growing the Food Culture)
School and Community Orchards and Fruit Cookery
Farmer Photos
Cookery Skills
Farm Food in School Cookery
Village Shops and Farmers’ Markets

(These projects were undertaken with funding from the European Union, the Department for Farming and Rural Affairs, the Lottery, local authorities and various other funding sources).

Current Projects

Young Cooks on Farms: Action in rural Sussex is piloting a scheme to bring local food into the school cookery curriculum at secondary school level. Working with Food Technology teachers in six schools in Sussex, we are organising a series of farm visits, where pupils have the opportunity to find out about food production from the farmers themselves and bring back some of their produce to use in cookery sessions. The project is intended to empower pupils to make better informed choices about their food purchases and to equip them with the skills to make healthy meals using locally produced raw ingredients.

Local Fruit Futures: Action in rural Sussex has planted over 25 small orchards in school grounds. An example of previous work in the High Weald can be found here. All schools showed an interest in local varieties and we are now working with Brighton Permaculture Trust on Local Fruit Futures to train over 1000 people in fruit tree planting and care and in fruit cookery, plant a further 36 small school and community orchards, propagate hundreds of Sussex variety apple trees, plant examples of all these apples at Stanmer Park orchard and make it more accessible, produce two publications, based partly on research by the University of Sussex into the history of fruit growing in Sussex. If your school or community group would like to plant a small orchard (7/8 trees) we would like to hear from you. If you would like advice with restoring or planning a new larger scale community orchard we may also be able to help. Note that we will prioritise the more disadvantaged areas or pupils/residents/clients within communities and schools.

Community Chef: Action in rural Sussex is working with Community Chef Robin van Creveld to deliver cookery skills and cookery training skills across Sussex, to deliver a range of beneficiaries in diverse settings ranging from Pupil Referral Units to older people, people with long term medical and young parents.

Village Shop Advice Service: Airs recognises the vital role played by village shops in rural communities and can offer advice on setting up a community shop where the existing provision is threatened or has disappeared.

Really Local Food Directories: Following the success of the booklets detailing food producers and outlets in several rural areas of East Sussex , Action in rural Sussex would like to make this service available to other communities or organisations across the county. Partial funding would be required from the organisations involved.

Catsfield Area Really Local Food Directory

Ewhurst Area Really Local Food Directory

Herstmonceux Area Really Local Food Directory

Ticehurst Area Really Local Food Directory

Future Projects

We are currently working with a number of organisations on seeking funding to extend our Young Cooks on Farms programme, making the Healthy Start Voucher Scheme more effective for the parents on low incomes for whom it is intended and for local growers and shops, and a transborder project with French partners on setting up community orchards with adults with special needs.