The Forres area is the best place in Scotland to grow plums, apples and other fruit and veg according to the project manager of a local food scheme.
Pam Rodway is working with Connect Local Food Fund to set up ‘Forres Feast’ with Forres Food Producers, a local group of organic horticulturists.
Forres Feast is a weekly pop-up shop which is open on the high street every Saturday until the end of October and will culminate in a feast, as the name suggests of locally produced food.
She said: “The Forres Area has a tradition of walled gardens and orchards and with the wonderful soil of the Laich of Moray, it’s a benign climate that is very well-suited to horticulture.
“The area has for a long time had projects that link local people with local food.”
The group of six local growers have been working together to manage supply and demand and have outlets in Forres and online, such as The Bakehouse and the Phoenix Shop in Findhorn, and online through Roots, Fruits and Leaves and the Elgin Food Hub.
Pam explained that the growing and distribution of local food can also provide a lot of other benefits in the community.
“Buying from small scale producers is something that the Scottish Government is now promoting. They visited the area and are now writing a report for the Royal Society of Arts in Scotland on how local growers can contribute to the health and wellbeing of the local community by keeping it small and local,” she added.
Pam has travelled to Haddington in the Central Belt to meet with a well-established group of organic horticulturalists to discuss issues such as the finances of selling on a micro-scale to local people.
The pop-up shop is open every Saturday at 86 High Street from 10am to 2pm.
The ‘Forres Feast’ will take place on 5 October in the Town Hall, and will comprise of a three-course meal of local, seasonal food prepared by local chefs Rob McKenna and Brett Mather. More details can be found on Facebook.