Cullerne Gardens at Findhorn Foundation producing vegetables for Moray Food Plus
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A LOCAL spiritual community is donating its excess crop produce to the area's food bank.
The Findhorn Foundation's Cullerne Gardens grow vegetables for the ecovillage and Cluny Hill College kitchens but, due to the coronavirus lockdown, both are closed to visitors meaning there is plenty to share with the wider community.
The garden is tended by volunteers from The Findhorn Foundation including Jewels Kinnair and Luke Whitney who came up with the idea to help Moray Food Plus.
Jewels said: "For some time we've been wanting to share our produce with the wider community in Moray, particularly those in the east.
"If we can help some of the most vulnerable have healthy organic food, with minimal food miles and no plastic packaging, we're delighted that, due to not feeding guests just now, we could do this."
The Findhorn Foundation is busiest over the summer with guests travelling from around the globe to take part in workshops and events. Salads and vegetables are grown at Cullerne Gardens to feed them.
There are usually around a dozen gardeners working on the site, including School of Gardening students learning about crops, mindful interaction with nature, permaculture and sustainability. In its fields and polytunnels they develop skills in sowing and propagation, greenhouse management, tool use and care, compost making, field management, crop rotation, cultivation, planting out, harvesting and forest management.
Unfortunately the Findhorn Foundation closed to guests in March and will remain so until October in line with current Covid-19 regulations.
Other workshops and events that have been cancelled as a result of the lockdown include weekly programme The Care Farm for adults with learning disabilities, autism and Aspergers, as well as Eco Village Experience Week which includes activities in the garden to connect with nature.
Many Foundation staff are on furlough and the educational charity has lost 80 per cent of its income as a result.
However, Cullerne Gardens operates on permaculture principles including sharing and has so far sent two large deliveries of vegetables including pak choi, lettuces, Cullerne Greens and spring onions to Moray Food Plus to share with some of the most vulnerable people in Moray.
"Cullerne Gardens has nutritious vegetables grown with love to spare," finished Luke. "We are keen to continue this in some way after the lockdown lifts, as sharing the skills and resources of this wonderful garden is something close to our hearts."
Moray Food Plus development officer Lindsay Welsh confirmed the Foundation's donated vegetables have been used for a community meals-on-wheels project started during lockdown.
She said: "Meals are cooked and distributed to those that have been shielding and isolated, those that would normally attend our community meals or those experiencing food insecurity.
"It makes such a difference to receive such fresh local produce that we can incorporate into the meals to ensure the food is as nutritious and healthy as possible. There are also 30 of these meals being distributed weekly out round the Forres area."
