CropDrop coordinates the distribution of donated fruit and vegetables from growers across Bath & North East Somerset to affordable food organisations providing access to affordable food.
Our mission is to build and strengthen the relationships within local communities, developing resilience and food security through the sharing of knowledge, time, produce and land.
What started as an idea in 2020 between a representative of growers and a food poverty officer for B&NES council, has completed a second year and achieved 156 drops from 19 sources to 27 recipients through the support of 4 volunteer project coordinators and 24 volunteer drivers.
In this summary, we provide an overview of what those 156 drops look like.
It has been nice to be a part of this enterprise and know things I have grown have gone to a good home. Thank you.
It is wonderful to see what they do with our veg/fruit and lovely to get such heartfelt thanks.
Oasis Pantry have received 17 crates of fresh fruit and vegetables from Crop Drop in 2021. Many of those items have expanded the range of vegetables in particular we have offered our members. These deliveries have opened up opportunities to talk to our members abut more unusual vegetables, and to suggest recipes and cooking tips. They've also given us the chance to talk about where these foods have come from, and why they might look a bit different to what they would see in a supermarket.
Explore our connections made between grower and recipient in Bath, Keynsham and Somer Valley in this interactive map. Select a region from the available buttons above the map to zoom to that location.
We used the last of the puréed pumpkin in pumpkin spice cookies and quesadillas. The wonderful courgettes, chard, curly kale and cavolo nero used immediately and made the most amazing ribollita (a hearty Tuscan bean stew similar to a minestrone). The rest finished by another class, chopped finely and added into a cheesy pastry parcels.
The little tomatoes from the previous week and more courgettes were hidden in the cheese straws. Those raspberries are so loved by the children and makes incredible jam. Which on cold Autumn mornings is now the preferred favourite on toast. It goes as quick as we can make it!
In total there were 37 different varieties of crops dropped throughout 2021. Below we have split fruit and vegetables into separate bar graphs.
The effect of Crop Drop on affordable food provision in our area has been immense at certain times of the year, when there have been extra supplies from allotments and gardens. The addition of fresh, home grown food has made a difference to the lives of many of our residents.
This was especially so in my ward of Paulton. We have organised a Larder which is open 24/7 and available to all. Those using the Larder have greatly benefited from vegetables like marrows, courgettes and squash. We even had very helpful recipes to accompany these. We could tell how popular these were by the speed with which they went.
We were very grateful for the extra vegetables (and fruit) which added a lot to varying the diet of those using our Larder. I’m sure this was the case in other parts of B&NES using this scheme.
Our project has been supported by the help of others, these include:
A broader exploration of the lessons learned from our operation can be found in our learnings report.
Connect two further allotments in Bath city to create a total of six actively donating allotment sites.
Contacts were developed with Larkhall, Claremont Road and Canal Gardens allotment groups from July. They were connected with local affordable food projects in Larkhall and central Bath with limited success.
Form a link with one additional allotment or grower source in either the Keynsham area or Bathavon area.
Local research revealed that Bathford, Batheaston and Bathampton allotments already have local solutions for sharing their bountiful produce. The second set of Keynsham allotments are small and unlikely to produce spare produce.
New contacts were established with the Avonleigh Orchard, Rainbow Wood Farm and Avon Valley Farm for surplus apples, pumpkins and squash.
Introduce one pilot scheme on the ‘fork to fork’ concept with an appropriate allotment and community charity organisation.
Combe Down allotments were connected with Threeways School in September. This has already proved to be a deeper and more significant relationship, with invitations to visit each site and discussion about opportunities for closer working together. It is the subject of a separate Case Study.
Identify a partner organisation to collaborate with to deliver the mutual aims.
CropDrop has collaborated with the Avon Gleaning Network team on several gleans at local farms, sharing sweetcorn, pumpkins and squash with affordable food projects. Links with the Midsomer Norton Co-op have been strengthened.
Our aims moving into the new year include:
CropDrop represents community action at its finest. The ingenuity and energy of the team has delivered so many benefits to local families, community centres, volunteers, and allotment holders. In doing so, it has made CropDrop a beacon of good practice for other parts of the country to follow.
We want to say a giant carroty CropDrop THANK YOU to Deborah Griffin for all the time and energy she has generously applied in the Somer Valley since August 2020. She has connected with allotmenteers, growers, affordable food projects, community groups and media outlets to enable the easy sharing of bountiful vegetables and fruits. Deborah is redirecting her volunteer energies to growing developments around Timsbury in 2022.
