A surplus of sweetcorn from Farrington’s Farm will be finding its way to local plates of people in need, thanks to an opportunity highlighted by the Midsomer Norton Food Co-op.

Having already shared with the local service which provides help for those struggling with food poverty, Fi Cantillon, from the Midsomer Norton Food Co-op, asked the farm if the surplus produce could be shared even further.

Enter CropDrop B&NES and the Bristol Gleaning Network who, with nine volunteers, managed to pick over a thousand sweetcorn cobs in an hour and a half to be shared with over twelve projects in B&NES and beyond.

The surplus pick was so successful that the group returned on Monday this week to gather in the leftover pumpkins and squash following a successful Halloween season.

CropDrop B&NES helps redistribute allotment produce to community organisations and charities in B&NES that in turn provide food to people in need and help to alleviate food poverty across the area.

Fiona Bell, from CropDrop B&NES told The Journal: “We are looking forward to further collaboration in the coming months to bring nutritious, wholesome, fresh food to affordable food projects to share with people who are living with food insecurity.”

A spokesperson from Farrington’s said: “We are delighted to be working with such a great initiative such as Crop Drop. The Crop Drop team have been absolutely amazing and we thank them for their hard work. The work they do with the local community is very important and something we fully support, so we are very happy to be able to help. We hope to work with them again in the future.”

The Bristol Gleaning Network were re-energised in 2020 and have recently gained a B&NES area co-ordinator, Samantha Williamson, who lives near Timsbury.

The Midsomer Norton Food Co-op provides free, fresh food parcels for those in need with no judgement and works alongside other groups in the area such as Hidden Hunger Bath and the Writhlington Pantry, where people can drop off and pick up surplus food, fresh vegetables, garden plants, long life food, toiletries and books in the village.

For more details on any of these groups, visit: cropdrop.org.uk or search via Facebook for the Midsomer Norton Food Co-op or Writhlington Pantry.