Launch of new premises means more food Grown in Totnes!

Saturday April 29th, Grown in Totnes celebrated the opening of its processing premises with a launch event, inviting people to explore the unit on the industrial estate and to welcome new crops to the current range of local food that is available in and around Totnes.

Local farmers, retailers and bakers (from within 30 miles of Totnes) were the first to visit the premises, discussing possibilities of growing crops and stocking or using Grown in Totnes products in their businesses. This was an opportunity for everyone to exchange experiences and make contacts in order to strengthen the local food network. Nicola Eckersley of Earth. Food. Love, the new zero waste shop on the High St, said, “We really appreciated the connection it allowed us to have with the food. Knowing where it was grown and how it's processed meant a lot to us. To us it provides real food by real people.”

The afternoon was for the general public and many curious people flooded onto the industrial estate to see how the crops are processed and how the project came into being. It got quite crowded in the unit when it came to the processing demonstrations since everybody wanted to catch a glimpse of how the noisy machinery does its magic. To round off the experience, the visitors were invited to participate in grain inspired story-telling, that captured everyone’s imagination.

All guests got an opportunity to sample Grown in Totnes produce in a fantastic variety of lovely dishes cooked by The Kitchen Table, including spelt flour, pea flour, green peas, oat flour and whole and flaked oats, along with a New Lion Brewery beer that featured Grown in Totnes’ recently flaked spelt and was brewed especially for the occasion.

This day was a great opportunity for everybody to make contacts and learn more about locally sourced and processed crops and resulted in a lot of input and inspiration for Grown in Totnes to continue setting up the processing procedures.

If you are a local producer, retailer or baker who wants to find out more, please visit our website or get in touch with Holly. If you want to buy our products, they will be on sale at the launch of the Totnes Food Shed on 19th May 2017, and in local shops in June.