Dean Forest Food Hub is an online farmer’s market connecting the community with local food producers. Focusing on quality and affordability, the initiative brings the best of Gloucestershire’s larder to your door, from local honey to handmade cheeses.
As well as organic fruit and vegetables, customers can order high-welfare meat cuts from the likes of Plump Hill Farm and Warrenhaven Farming. Some of our home-grown favourites include Gloucestershire Old Spot pork, grass-fed beef reared in Lydney, and pedigree Shropshire lamb. Local cheese producers are also well represented. Choose from over 25 different varieties, from smooth and creamy Welsh brie to deliciously salty oak-smoked cheddar. Natural cosmetics, freshly baked breads, handmade kombucha, and healthy herbal teas are among the other offerings. Check out the full list of goods and producers via the Dean Forest Food Hub website.
Fair prices — for both the consumer and the grower — are at the heart of the initiative. Producers set prices and consumers buy directly from the producer, thus cutting out margins made by third parties, such as supermarkets.
What’s more, by shopping locally, you’ll be supporting small businesses in the area and cutting down on food miles. And with producers receiving orders weekly, they can bake, pick, and pack to order with minimal food waste.
How it works
If you live locally, you can join the hub and order your groceries online via the Dean Forest Food Hub website. Rather than operating a home delivery service, the hub drops off orders at various convenient pick-up points. This cuts the delivery cost which in turn is passed on to the customers.
Food boxes for the southern hub, which includes Lidney, Chepstow, and St. Briavels, are delivered to pick-up points on Wednesdays. Food boxes for the northern hub, which includes Cinderford, Drybrook, and Coleford, are delivered to pick-up points on Fridays. The hub collaborates with a network of locals who receive your food boxes every week. That means you could be collecting your weekly shop from the local library, pub, or even a neighbour’s garage! See which collection point is closest to you here.
Good for the planet and your pocket
In a recent article, @BBC highlighted, “On average, each person in England uses 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 single-use plastic items of cutlery every year…”
In a bid to help reduce their use of single-use plastics, the hub operates a recycling system for food packaging. As well as plastic bags and punnets, the initiative encourages customers to return glass bottles, egg boxes, and cardboard food boxes. Packaging is then returned to producers to be re-used wherever possible. And don’t worry, strict hygiene standards are always adhered to.
So, if you’re looking for an eco-friendly supermarket alternative that’s fairly priced and high on quality, get involved!
Here at The Wyndham Hotel & Restaurant in Clearwell, we are committed to showcasing the best of Gloucestershire’s produce. Our chefs champion traditional British pub food; cooked to order using fresh, regionally-sourced ingredients. We are open for dinner on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, and weekend brunch. Live locally? Take a look at our restaurant menu and book a table today!
