Thursday 8 September 2011

Vegetables for Vouchers


So what do you do with all the surplus of fruit and vegetables from your garden or allotment?
Increasingly popular are vegetables for vouchers schemes run by restaurants. The restaurant gets fresh, locally produced, seasonal produce and the suppliers enjoy the fruits of their labours, professionally prepared, at a discount price.
So why not approach your favourite local eatery & see if you can strike a deal? However, don’t just turn up on their door step with boxes of your finest produce as they will probably have already what they require from regular suppliers.
 Instead, make a list of what you expect to have spare, and when it will be at it’s best for harvesting. You and the Chef can then strike a deal, but it will have to be in a quantity that will make it worth while.  You might have some success with more unusual crops that are not always available commercially such as damsons & quince.
If you can claim, hand on heart, that the produce has been produced without the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides, this will also help your chances of a good deal.