SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER

August has again proved a busy month with new deliveries now taking us into Darlington and Tow Law.

We have had some exciting new customers come on board, including a group of childrens nurseries and a local restaurant. It seems we are the only local network operating in our area offering a complete range of local and organic. produce.

We have also continued with our rise to media stardom discussing our experience of starting a business on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Breakfast Show with Gilly Hope – a lovely lady that is passionate about food quality herself..

With our delivery numbers racking up, we haven’t managed to do any markets this month, but we are still very much involved with bringing local producers to the public. Last weekend we took part in The Journals Taste 2 Event at Linden Hall, near Morpeth. What a fantastic day it was, bringing a huge number of local producers together with entertainment and events, for a great family day out. We spent the day selling, promoting our business, gawping over David Ginola and also managed to catch up with a number of our suppliers and to chew the fat with the many like-minded friends that we have made.

We will be at the next Taste event on 28^th September at The Quayside market – we hope to see some of you there.

And finally, we have arrived! We were very proud to have been chosen by a London P.R. company to deliver the prize for Anchors Little Squirts Squirty Cream Competition to the lucky winner near Staindrop - six months deliveries of organic fruit.

For us this felt like a real achievement and tells us, along with our recent Questionnaire that we really are getting it right.

Thank you to all of you that took the time to fill them in – we value your opinions and will be acting on your responses.

So September is here and Summer has come and gone. From here on it is the run up to the “festive” season. We are now planning the content of our Christmas boxes, our new Christmas products and planning for the large number of Food and Christmas Fairs we will be attending. We will also be doing our first bit of public speaking this month, to a Group in Chester le Street. Wish us luck!

Mirrae

AUGUST NEWSLETTER

It’s been a while since we sent a Newsletter so Helen and I thought we had better catch up with you all. We spent the weekend in the Speciality Food Tent at Gateshead Flower Festival, with our crisps and preserves and bowls of organic apples, so we are particularly tired out this week! It was very busy so we are now waiting with baited breath to find out how successful it was for us and how many more we have converted to local/organic food delivery. We have been attending the odd Market day at Chester le Street and Durham, as well and it’s been lovely to see some of you there. It’s Sedgefield Agricultural Show next - this Saturday!

Our new website has been active since May and we have been able to add quite a selection of local and/or organic products to support our fruit and vegetable “boxes”. The logistics of placing orders and making collections or receiving deliveries from them all has been driving Helen mad but we seem to have settled in a routine now. It makes it hard to define a fixed turnaround time for orders because of all the differing order cut offs but we feel it is worth it, to give you really fresh produce.

Still to help get your orders to you more quickly, we are considering opening a shop somewhere close to Spennymoor. We hope that this would give us more stock available and at shorter notice but in the meantime we are still at the mercy of our supplier order deadlines. The bigger our demand, the more flexible they become so if you persuade your friends and family to get those orders in, you can help us give you a better service!

Our seasonal, locally grown fruit and veg. is going well with other local businesses as well as with our delivery customers . We have supplied rhubarb, gooseberries and blackcurrants for local yoghurts and jams. Lollo Rosso and Little Gem lettuce, peppers and tomatoes, plums and damsons will be available very shortly. Anyone growing organically with a spare supply of anything, do give us a call!

Mirrae

NOTE: The fuel cost increases have continued to hit us hard but, as a fledgling business, we have taken the decision not to increase our prices for as long as we can stand it.

MAY NEWSLETTER

There is only one thing dominating our thoughts at the moment.

It’s been a long, hard slog but finally we have the new website up and running. We don’t think we’ve got it quite perfect yet but we’re getting there. We have been busily adding our new products and are finally able to show everyone what other wonderful local products are available! There will be lots more going on over the next month.

We have also launched a range of vegan grocery “boxes” as well as a select your own range. We will also be adding to this steadily. We will be at the VegNE festival on Saturday 24^th May at the University of Nrthumbria Students Union, to show that you don’t have to buy from a franchise to get your organic goods delivered.

Our traditionally grown fruit and veg. has started to come through. Fred’s rhubarb really is top quality – our friends at Tree House Creamery are so impressed that it will be going into their locally produced yoghurts. And it’s great for freezing – just chop it up and away you go.

Of course, Helen was on BBC Radio Newcastle last week. There is always a first time for everything and I think she did a great job. Rising petrol costs affect everyone. Of course it’s especially bad news for a business like ours but ultimately, it’s even more reason to use a delivery service rather than everyone trotting off to the supermarket in their individual cars.

You may also have noticed that we featured in the Durham Advertiser Women in Business “Advertorial” last weekend. If you did then I really must tell you that we aren’t nearly as fierce as we looked – we were just plain terrified of the photographer! We are getting some new shots taken so that you can see that we are nice, friendly ladies after all.

If you have it then maybe you can use it to frighten hoodies off before you recycle it. Let us know if it works – it certainly made us cry!

We are also doing some features with Business Link at the moment so there will be even more to tell you about next month. It’s all go! It will be lovely to get back to basics in July.

Mirrae

April 2008

Easter has come and gone and I’ve now passed that milestone most people dread. Yes, I am proud to admit that I have now turned 40. (It’s Helens turn very soon!)

I refuse to feel depressed about it – I feel that it’s an achievement to have got this far - so, all the more reason to celebrate life and be proud of what Helen and I are trying to achieve.

We are so close to being able to add organic and traditional meat and bakery to our website – we are getting itchy feet wanting to be able to share our fantastic suppliers with you. We have thoroughly enjoyed the process of discovery and especially the sampling. We have tasted some of the best mince and steaks we have ever eaten over the last few months. So, we can’t wait!

We have had some great coverage in the media recently (The Journal Saturday 29^th March “Mums unite in farm fresh food venture”) and so much support from the local community. So many people seem to agree with our aims and ethics – with all the bad press about how life in the UK is so much worse these days, it’s a real pleasure to talk to so many people that just want to do the right thing.

The Honest Food Partnership is going from strength to strength and every day brings new friends. As well as our growing list of regular customers, we are currently talking with a number of local and regional businesses that want to buy local and support Durham producers.

Your feedback has been invaluable in assessing how far we are meeting your needs so thank you to those who have sent messages. And thank you to everyone for supporting Durham.

It is beginning to feel that we really are making a difference!

Mirrae

March 2008

When Helen and I started The Honest Food Partnership a major reason was because we wanted to be sure of what we were feeding our families. Personally, I can really taste the difference in my organic food. One of my most sceptical (and tight-fisted) friends has recently been converted to organic on taste alone (well done those bananas and carrots!)

We all know that supermarket fruit and veg. has been dosed with chemicals and treatments throughout its life, for example to prevent pests and diseases, to maximise output, to extend shelf life – but when it comes to other products there are other practices you probably didn’t know about.

Would you be happy to learn that you have been eating sulphuric acid in your oven chips? That when you thought you were buying eggs that came from happy chickens, they were actually still having their beaks lopped off? And that so-called British meat can be bred here, shipped to Europe for “finishing” (fattening up), slaughtered and butchered before being shipped back here for packaging?

It feels great to know that with organic food you don’t have to worry about additives and animal welfare. But what are we really striving for? Better tasting food? Happy animals? Freshness? For us it’s simple – we want honest food.

After many, many meetings with local suppliers Helen and I feel strongly that using traditional farming methods, though they may not always be authorised as organic, can still offer many of the things that we are looking for. We are working very hard to bring you a choice of entirely local produce. We can support more Durham farmers, represent the specialities and traditions of our area and still be true to our principles. After all, our farmers need Fairtrade as much as anyone.

Will it taste as good as organic? – let the proof of the pudding be in the eating.

Oh and sulphuric acid in oven chips? – some manufacturers spray it on their crops before harvesting to end growth. Whether it is then absorbed by the potato tubers is a matter of conjecture.

De-beaked chickens? – animal welfare is one the two major differences between free range and organic eggs. The other being the feed they are given – organic eggs are produced by chickens that have been fed organic products.

And so-called British meat? Well, the problem has been uncovered with veal calves. The problem for me is where it HASN’T been uncovered! If it’s packed over here then it’s “British”. Makes you wonder how honest your food really is, doesn’t it?!

Mirrae

NEWS - We have recently increased our range of buy-by-the-Kilo fruit and veg. (and you can now buy in half Kilos too.)

Product(s) of the month