June 2019 - A guide to buying local seasonal food

Published in Charlbury Chronicle June 2019

I am often asked where to buy local seasonal food and grass-fed local meat so I thought I’d produce a short summary for easy reference. By carefully planning your shopping trips, combining with other activities, or shopping in your lunchtime, you might be able to shop and eat well every week without racking up additional car miles. . . and you will be supporting local producers who will get a much better income from your direct sales.

·    Charlbury Farmers Market - 2nd Saturday in March, June, September, December
·    Woodstock Farmers Market - 1st Saturday and 3rd Saturday every month
·    Chipping Norton Farmers Market - 3rd Saturday every month
·    Witney Farmers Market - 4th Friday every month
·    Oxford Farmers Market - Gloucester Green 1st & 3rd Thursdays every month
There are also morning markets every weekend in Oxford: Saturdays at Headington, North Parade and East Oxford; Sundays at Summertown, Wolvercote and Lake Street. Apart from farmers markets, there are also lots of opportunities to buy direct from local producers either from farm shops or by arrangement.
·    Charlbury Deli is happy to talk to people about selling their spare garden produce in the shop
·    The Kitchen Garden People provide a weekly salad bag and fresh picked vegetable share all year round (including asparagus in May) for signed up members who pay a flat rate each month. Collection from Chadlington or delivery to Leafield, Finstock, and Charlbury. Email thekitchengardenpeople@gmail.com to get on the waiting list for the next expansion.
·    Church Lane Produce at Spelsbury (2 miles away) Front door honesty stall open every day, seasonal vegetables and eggs.
·    Chadlington Quality Foods (3 miles away) sell Charlbury’s Bread Shed sourdough bread on a Tuesday and Friday and also sell spare garden produce.
·    The Market Garden shop at Mill Street, Eynsham (9 miles away) Own grown vegetables from Long Hanborough. Other locally produced, organic and ethical foods. Frozen local meat: pork from their own Sandy and Black pigs, beef from the North Aston dairy herd. North Aston milk and ice cream. Local sourdough breads. SESI detergent refills. Faith in Nature toiletries refill. BioD refill. Bulk refill station for organic dry foods. Open Monday-Saturday.
·    Worton Organic Garden, Farm Shop & Cafe , Cassington (10 miles away). Own grown fruit and vegetables as well as organic supplies from London wholesale market. Own grown tulips and other flowers. Wood-fired oven sourdough bread made on the premises. Fermented foods made on the premises.  Open every Friday & Saturday 10-4, & Sunday 11-4.
 
·    North Aston Organics for vegetables and North Aston Dairy (11 miles away) Charlbury is not in their delivery area, but you can make regular orders and collect on a Friday or you can buy vegetables from the honesty stall at the farm. Dairy produce includes milk, cream, yoghurt, and ice cream and needs to be ordered for collection every Friday on a regular basis. In the same village as Nicholson Nurseries' Garden Centre & Yurt Cafe
·    Daylesford Organic Farm Shop & Restaurant (11 miles away)
·    Wykham Park Farm Shop , near Banbury OX16 9UP (14 miles away) for local and home grown produce, including Longhorn beef.
·    Cultivate Mobile Farm Shop Sunday morning at Summertown Market. Also order online for deliveries in Oxford on a Friday or for collection at Kidlington (11 miles away) on a Thursday.
·    Skylarks Organic Box Scheme based in the local market gardening counties of Hereford & Worcestershire and delivered to Charlbury each week
·    Cornbury Park Venison available August to January from Denshams Butchers in Witney (7 miles), also at Charlbury Farmers Market and other local Farmers Markets.
·    Ditchley Farm, Charlbury (2 miles away) Boxes of whole or half organic lamb from Highlander sheep available July to December. Boxes of organic beef from White Park Cattle, Angus, and Simmental breeds available September to April. Email: mdhamiltonfarms@gmail.com
·    Litchfield Farm, Enstone (3 miles away)  Boxes of whole or half lamb from black Hebridean sheep available January. Email: nikki@litchfieldfarm.co.uk
·    Chadlington lamb (3 miles away) Boxes of whole or half lamb from Romney sheep available August to November. Email: hallam.d@hotmail.com
·    Willowbrook Organic Meat from Hampton Gay, near Bletchingdon, OX5 2QQ (11 miles away) also honey and Zaytoun products
·    Upton Smokery OX18 4LY near Burford (11 miles away) for smoked meats, smoked fish, biltong and seasonings. Also Upton Firehouse Restaurant open Friday-Sunday 12-4
·    Rissington Hereford Beef Boxes from Great Rissington (15 miles away) for 100% grass-fed beef. Phone 07714 720640 or email helendspooner@gmail.com
·    Northmoor Beef Boxes from Rectory Farm, Northmoor (16 miles away)
·    Kite's Nest Farm near Broadway (24 miles away) for 100% grass-fed beef

For more details and website links, see the Local Seasonal Food webpage on the Charlbury Green Hub website https://www.charlburygreenhub.org.uk/food/local-seasonal-food.html

CE
Charlbury Green Hub