Northern Marches Cymru

Supermarket giants are hungry for more food from North Wales

Toni Godolphin — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:50:55 +0000

Supermarket giants ASDA are looking for more local food producers across North Wales.
That was the message from the world’s biggest retailer to an audience of food producers from Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham at the North East Wales Food Conference in Llangollen this week.
ASDA, a subsidiary of America’s Walmart Group, already stock a range of products from across North Wales, including Blodyn Aur, cold-pressed rapeseed oil.
Alison Sawyer, of ASDA’s Local Sourcing Team, based in Leeds, told the conference at the Wild Pheasant Hotel that ASDA already stock 300 lines of Welsh produce, 13 per cent more than their nearest major retail competitor.
She said: “We would like to stock more and we’re very interested in products from North Wales.
“We want to give people the opportunity to buy products that are local and products that are Welsh when they are out doing their weekly shop.
“We have the flexibility to enable us to grow your businesses whether you can get your product into one store or into a group of stores.
“It’s about delighting our customers and we want to offer them a regional and a local choice and we want to make it a simple process to become a local supplier.”
The conference was organised by regeneration agencies Cadwyn Clwyd and Northern Marches Cymru and paid for by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) through the Welsh Government’s Rural Development Plan, part of a three-year plan to revitalise rural communities and their across North East Wales.
Cadwyn Clwyd Agri-Food Officer Robert Price said: “ASDA have been very positive about sourcing local food products and they have a simple and straightforward system for food producers to follow.
“We have exceptionally high quality food right across North East Wales and there has probably never been a better opportunity for businesses to make their mark in what is a very competitive environment.
Supermarkets like ASDA are not just looking for our high quality meat and vegetables, they are also looking for added value products like preserves, pates, pies, cakes, sweets and biscuits and there are an increasing number of quality specialist food outlets as well.”
Other speakers at the event included Margaret Carter, who founded Patchwork Pates in Ruthin 30 years ago and who is currently running a new venture to use beer, wine and cider from local producers in pates, chutneys and preserves.
She also heads up a mentoring scheme for small businesses and also for young businesspeople.
The conference also heard from Tansy Rogerson and David Franklin of the Bodnant Food Centre where 70 per cent of their stock comes from over 150 producers from Wales, almost half from North Wales.
Dave Franklin, the Farm Shop Manager, said: “We want to meet more Welsh suppliers and more different lines and we are particularly interested in fruit and vegetables, snack foods, sauces, cheeses and buiscuits.
“It is not just about price today. We are finding that people are willing to come and travel to us and they’re willing to pay a bit more for quality food.”
The conference was also addressed by Jo Leah, of Weber Shandwick who promote North Wales Food, from Martin Jardine of the Food Technology Centre in Llangefni and from Phil Corper, of waste prevention organisation WRAP Cymru.
Anyone interested in Cadwyn Clwyd’s projects can ring 01824 705802 or e-mail admin@cadwynclwyd.co.uk

Dave gets busy, in the Twizy!!

Toni Godolphin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:41:13 +0000

Northern Marches Cymru are now the proud owners of a Renault Twizy. Wrexhams first electric quadracycle.

This battery operated car has no tax charges, no admissions, does around 50 miles per hour and best of all it does apporximately 60 miles to one charge, costing around 10p!

The car has been purchased to reduce the cost of mileage at NMC and it is a great publicity tool for events around Wrexham. We will be getting it wrapped so you know its Northern Marches Cymru car, so look out for us!!

Your World Heritage Site Needs You!

Toni Godolphin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:32:47 +0000

Proud of where you live?

Want to share it with the World?

As a Volunteer you can!

Visitors from across the globe are coming to see the mighty Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal. To help them see what a great place we live in, we need volunteers aged 18+ to help at the new visitor information point at Trevor Basin.

This is a great chance to learn new skills, gain work experience and most importantly – HAVE FUN!!

It’s completely flexible. No experience is necessary as full training will be given. You can do as much, or as little, as you want.

For more information contact: Amanda Evans on 01978 814925 or 07878750376

North East Wales Food Conference: Maximising Your Market

Toni Godolphin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:54:27 +0000

Monday 4th March 2013, 6.00pm-9.00pm.

To be held at the Wild Pheasant, Llangollen. Open to producers from Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham. Great guest speakers, including: Margaret Carter from Patchwork Pate, Neville Jones from Bodnant Food Centre, Andrew Foulkes from Stan’s Supermarket and Alison Sawyer from Asda. Hot buffet and refreshments available. To book your free place contact robert.price@cadwynclwyd.co.uk or call 01824 705802

This is a joint event between Northern Marches Cymru and Cadwyn Clwyd

Supermarket surplus food – Set to benefit Wrexham/Flintshire Charity Sector

Toni Godolphin — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:34:52 +0000

A new Wrexham based venture (covering Wrexham and Flintshire) to supply free, surplus and in-date food to an array of local charities using food with their clients (including Wrexham & Flintshire’s local Foodbanks) is making progress this spring. Backed by AVOW and FLVC, the two counties’ ‘Voluntary Councils’ and local political leaders, the vision is making headway but is in need of local community and business support.
Eifion Williams, Chair of the Fareshare for North East Wales group said,
“A staggering 3million tons of perfectly edible and in-date food is landfilled or incinerated in Britain each year. The only thing that’s out of date is event specific marketing such as the Olympics, goods with packaging printing errors or torn labels
“Huge energy is put into growing our food; channelling surpluses to people who need it should be considered before landfill. It’s the moral and common sense option
“Our corner of Wales doesn’t benefit from having a Farshare depot (there are 20 in the UK) there’s provision over the border in Birmingham and Manchester and there’s a project that services the Conwy area some fifty miles away
“It’s crucial at a time when 60% of charities using food are reporting an increase demand on their services, that we make this happen
Challenging both the charitable and commercial sectors in Wrexham and Flintshire, Eifion Williams urged them to come on board
“They can help us right now by providing us vital information. If they’re a supermarket, hotel, food producer, we can reduce their waste costs, help hit their waste targets and improve their local profile. If they’re a charity that has a food bill small or large, you can now tear up that bill and put your money towards your charitable aims
“It’s boring I know, but none of this can happen if groups in the area don’t come on board and register their support. It’s time to stand up and be counted if we’re going to make this happen
“It’s really simple: just email fareshare4NEWales@gmail.com and ask for details. A greater indication of support we get, the greater the chances we have of setting up this venture

Lindsay Boswell, on Behalf of Fareshare UK, who operate depots in other parts of the country, said in support:
“We estimate that we handle less than 0.1% of the surplus food in the UK and we desperately need more responsible food companies to work with us. If just 1% of the surplus food in the UK was given to FareShare, this could provide 70 million meals for people in need.
“Ask those you know in the food industry to work with us. Join our cause and help us fight hunger and tackle food waste.

Read about how I got involved in this: http://eifionwilliams.wordpress.com/sustainable-food/fareshare-ne-wales/
Fareshare offers franchises for areas to run their own local Fareshare: http://www.fareshare.org.uk/
For further details please contact:
Eifion Williams on 01978 722625 or eifion.williams@cylch.org.uk

Sceptics of air source heat pumps are warming to the idea.

Toni Godolphin — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:11:13 +0000

Bwlchgwyn out of school Club (BOOSC) have just installed their new air source heat pumps after successfully applying for a grant from the Rural Environmental Project Grant scheme.

The group were originally heating the building using LPG bottled gas – this proved very expensive but also because of the inefficient heaters it was burning a lot of gas and releasing CO₂ into the air. Following a study on the building on how to reduce its carbon footprint it was discovered that if the group were to use air source heat pumps instead of bottled gas they would save over 1 tonne of CO₂every year – which was important as the group are very conscious to reduce their impact on the environment.

For more information on air source heat pumps please go to http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy/Choosing-a-renewable-technology/Air-source-heat-pumps

BOOSC Chairman Nicky Roberts said “Having a study on our building has been really useful as we now know where we need to take action to reduce our carbon footprint. Also, being able to apply for a grant to help us to deliver the greatest carbon saving elements of the report has allowed us to dramatically reduce the CO₂ produced by BOOSC. Some people weren’t sure if they would work but in the recent snow the building was toasty warm and sitting at 21^oC even with 6 inches of snow out side!”

The group are now going to monitor their usage to see how much the fuel bills decrease over the coming year.

Caer Alyns New Round House

Toni Godolphin — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:53:22 +0000

Caer Alyn Archaeological and Heritage Group have started work on the new Round House at Caer Alyn in Llay.

I went today to see the start of the new project, even braving the snow! Work has only just started, but it is already taking shape. Patrick Hemmingway a local Heritage trades person appointed to work with local volunteers to erect the Round House, was not put off by the snow at all. Even Summer (the dog, appropriately named!) was enjoying the white stuff.

Supporting Older people – Community Inclusion Grant

Toni Godolphin — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:14:55 +0000

One of the key priorities of Wrexham Council is to ensure that older people are able to remain in their own homes in their communities for as long as it is possible. Besides providing social care support to individuals who need it, Wrexham Social Care Service is also keen to support new or existing community groups which will work with older people in promoting independent living and preventing social isolation.

Such schemes could involve befriending, low level domestic support, good neighbour initiatives and mutual support schemes etc. We are particularly keen on schemes which promote the well-being of older people and their active involvement and engagement.

For information about the pilot grant scheme and to request an application form, or for advice on how to set up a new community group or activity, contact Wrexham Council’s Community Development Team on 01978 298385 or email ceri.postle@wrexham.gov.uk

Happy Christmas from NMC

Toni Godolphin — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:21:49 +0000

From everyone at NMC
Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Nothern Marches Cymru AGM today

Toni Godolphin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:37:21 +0000

Please feel free to come to Northern Marches Cymru AGM today. Refreshments will be avilable.

Froncysyllte community Centre
1.30pm
Thursday 6th December 2012

For any further information please contact Toni Godolphin on 01978 298382