| Hello lovely people, It’s December! So that means this newsletter is a couple of days late, but we have lots of amazing stories to share…  The Longest Table Week edges ever nearerICYMI, we’ve launched an exciting new Christmas project! You’re invited to host a meal in your community to be part of The Longest Table. Small or large – all types of get-togethers are welcome! We’re aiming to get as many Long Tables eating together in the community as possible this year, and the response has been pretty big so far. We’ve got meals taking place during the week of 13th-19th December, with a large gathering happening at The Prince Albert and many small and medium events taking place throughout the district too. We’re excited to see all of your pictures from The Longest Table week! If everyone in our community has access to great food and someone to eat it with, life is good. When everyone’s invited, no one is left outside, special things start to happen. Let’s create a Christmas to remember this year, and maybe raise some money for charity too. Take a look at this amazing piece on The Longest Table, featured in this Winter’s Circus Journal (head to page 46). It has been beautifully illustrated too. Register for The Longest Table  Freezers of Love are back!After a delay of a few weeks, we are pleased to announce that the Freezer Of Love meals will be heading out across Stroud this Friday. Maisie, Owen and Vinnie have been working really hard to deliver top-quality meals from Hugh Lorry, so we can provide the same delicious meals that everyone is used to from the Freezers of Love. And, we can confirm – they taste amazing! All of the FoL meals are cooked with ingredients that are available to us through our local network. This is to help cut down on food waste, keep meals seasonal, highlight local producers and make sure our menus are fresh and exciting. A huge shout-out goes to the Friends of The Long Table as every Freezer of Love meal is fully paid for by them! This means that anyone can access these meals when they need them at no cost. If you would like to help fund more meals for the community, become a Friend of the Long Table, and also get a weekly lunch from us included!Find a Freezer of Love  The Long Table kitchen is taking shapeIt’s all work, work, work at Brimscombe Mills! We’ve got a team of awesome volunteers who are led by legendary builders Patman & Robin. Plus, our great friend Tom Gillet, founder of the Stroud Cook Club, is making a big difference with his fantastic DIY skills! We’ve had plumbing, plastering, electrics work going on and loads more that we don’t have space to mention. But the upshot is that we are getting there! It’s a big team effort, but we’re building on the bones of this beautiful mill and we’re confident the finished product will be extraordinary.  Stroud Cook ClubDo you enjoy cooking? Well then, the Stroud Cook Club could be for you! They get together on the first Sunday of every month to share a three-course plant-based meal. Meeting at The Trinity Rooms in Stroud, members volunteer to cook dishes individually (or in groups) which they bring from home. Everyone is welcome, and it’s completely free but contributions to the room hire fee are appreciated. Find out more.  Have I got spinach in me teeth? Emma experienced a damp but worthwhile morning up at Stroud Community Agriculture (SCA) last week, where she harvested a bed of perpetual spinach. It was kindly offered to The Long Table by the good folk at SCA!Stroud Community Agriculture is a Community Supported Agriculture project, where members commit to support the farm and provide a fair income for the farmers. With that support, the farmers can focus on developing the health and fertility of the farm, its wildlife and its environment. Stroud Micro Dairy Our friends at Stroud Micro Dairy, an award-winning small regenerative dairy farm based at Oakbrook Farm, are taking the steps to become the first dairy co-operative owned by the community in the UK. Stroud Micro Dairy strongly believe that community ownership of food supply is the future, and they will soon be the first UK dairy in co-operative community ownership. If you’re interested in becoming part of it, or want to know more about their calf-at-foot dairy and their regenerative approach to farming, head to their website. That’s it for now. We’ll be back just before Christmas with more news and updates. Comfort & joy, The Long Table Team x |
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