Growing for the Foodival

One of the key messages of the Tooting Foodival is that you can grow local, cook local and eat local i.e. with very low food miles and so minimal carbon emissions.  Another is that we aim to have a lot of FUN both over the summer and during the Foodival weekend in September.  If you want to be part of this local food extrvaganza, in any capacity, just make contact, we always need more hands as Foodival is a totally volunteer run event.

Cyber Carrot

As usual we will ask for donations of home grown produce from your back gardens, pots, allotments or window sills.  If you are a grower of anything, please try to save something interesting for September 12th!  Perhaps you could be this year's Top Tooting Cook?  All you'd need to do is cook up a dish using locally grown ingredients - we hope to have plenty to give you!  That's another big idea, we distribute all donated produce to local restaurants, cooks and, this year, groups and schools too, who will then produce dishes for us all to sample.

We also want to celebrate the strange looking things that we grow that no supermarket would ever sell!  So if you're a producer of wonky carrots or weird tomatoes, be proud and show the world!  There will be prizes!

Meanwhile, now is the time to watch out for all those garden pests who might ruin your best laid plans!  Here is a snapshot of the battle in my garden.  I like butterflies but ...

Kohl rabi & caterpillar, both growing for Foodival!

Join the Foodival Team - volunteering opportunities

Plans are underway for Foodival 2015 - Transition Town Tooting’s sustainable food festival – and we’re looking for people to join the team.

Maybe you’re someone who grows vegetables and want to connect with other growers? Or you love cooking and would like to work with local restaurants and organisations? Maybe you’re a dab hand at writing, photography or film making? Or maybe you’d like to get involved on the day, making the event a success.

Whatever takes your fancy, we’ve got a role for you.  You’ll meet some wonderful people, have the chance to shape the Foodival, and of course, get to eat some delicious food!

Foodival takes place over the weekend of 12 – 13 September.

How can you get involved?
There are lots of ways you can get involved, either by joining the planning team, or helping out over the weekend.

Join the planning team

Let us know which role or roles you're interested in and we can send more details or talk it through with you.

• Top Tooting Cook Competition Manager – plan and promote the competition, get people involved, and manage the competition on Sunday 13 September.
• Top Tooting Cook Competition Assistant – support the TTC Competition Manager in planning and running the competition.
• Growing and Produce Co-ordinator – get people growing for Foodival and encouraging local growers to donate their home grown fruit and vegetables on Saturday 12 September.
• Restaurant Liaison Manager – liaise with restaurants cooking for Foodival and manage distribution of produce on Saturday 12 September and collection of dishes for Foodival on Sunday 13 September.
• Marketing and Communications Assistant – get involved with the marketing and public relations campaigns to build awareness of Foodival in the local community.
• Entertainment Manager – source and manage the entertainers who will perform at Foodival.

Help spread the word!

• Poster and flyer distributors
• Local grower outreach team
• Cooking outreach team

Volunteer at Foodival

• Photographer
• Film maker
• Helpers to set up, serve, dismantle
• Local produce collection and donation support
• Local restaurant food collection

Get in touch if you’d like to get involved!
Contact transitiontowntooting@gmail.com or come to the next planning meeting on Tuesday, 26 May 7pm on Ramsden Road to find out more.