Thanks to all those who joined us on our walk around Hackney on Saturday 21^st July, where we took in the sights and sounds of urban food production at a number of different stops. With lovely weather and great crowd of people, the afternoon presented many interesting ideas and lots of food for thought!

Along the way our speakers Jessica McGhie, Jessica Freund, Maggie Brown and Venn Chesterton provided a great narrative for the walk with the attendees providing some interesting insights.

We began our walk with a picnic in Haggerston community orchard. A beautiful space regenerated by volunteers, there is always a need for keen gardeners to spend some time ensuring the upkeep of the orchard. Volunteers are welcome to join them on Saturday mornings from 11am, just turn up.

The food was provided by ‘The People’s Supermarket’, a food cooperative in Central London which provides healthy, local food at reasonable prices. If you want more information on this organisation which ‘connects an urban community with the local farming community’ then clear here or follow them on twitter @TPSLondon

Our stop in Broadway Market led us to David from ‘Downland produce’. He gave us a wonderful insight into the world of pig farming and his business ethics and values. David is starting butchery courses, so if you have an interest, or just want to learn how to choose the right bit of meat for cooking, there are varying levels of lessons available. See here for more on his business and relevant contact details.

Finally, there was the opportunity to sample the wonderful tasting honey of bees kept by Mikey Tomkins. A passionate bee-keeper, you can find out more information on his work here. His honey is available to buy in some of the local shops along Broadway Market and his ‘edible maps’ are available here