Moss Lane Farm, in Salford, has urged the community to eat organically and live more sustainable lives with ‘Grow Your Own’ kits and their fresh organic vegetable boxes.
Located in the heart of Chat Moss, the twenty-two acre fully certified organic farm run by Janine and her family which aims to reconnect the community with nature and educate the public on the importance of local produce.
An organic farm is simply a farm which doesn’t use any synthetic based fertilizers or pesticides, letting nature take its course in nurturing crops and the soil.
Janine Mcmahon, owner of Moss Lane Farm, believes that we should work harmoniously with nature as it all comes down to the produce we eat and that in turn contributes to our overall health and lifestyle.
Mrs Mcmahon said, “We went organic because we want to know where our food comes from and we want to work with nature.
“You work with nature well; you look after nature and they will look after you and via that it produces healthy food and fresh produce which is nutritional.
“So that’s generally why we went organic, we are in our 3rd year now. It’s definitely not been easy and it has been really difficult but we’ve had a massive learning journey working with climate change”.
Janine and her husband also worked in collaboration with Green Teach Community Farm and the Soil Association to help the community grow their own organic and sustainable produce during the pandemic.
She said, “We are driven in our school system to make sure to eat our 5 fruit and vegetables a day and that is part of our healthy diet, but when you look at the figures we don’t actually produce or import enough for every single person to have their 5 a day.
“So, I think it’s important for us to start growing our own, which for us is what the grow kits are about. It’s about getting people to start growing their own and to be sustainable while doing so”.
The farm has been quite vocal about the importance and benefits of buying local, seasonal, and sustainable food.
“It’s not only good for the environment, it’s good for the carbon footprint, it’s good for our economy and helping smaller businesses but more importantly it’s really good for our bodies”, said Mrs Mcmahon.
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The shortage of food and fresh produce during the pandemic has shown how fragile our food system is and with demands growing Janine and her family decided to offer freshly harvested organic vegetable boxes for Salford residents.
Janine and her family wanted to reconnect the community with nature and educate the locals more than anything on where their food comes from and the importance of sourcing local produce.
Janine said, “During lockdown we provided and worked with a lot of homeless charities, such as Mustard Tree which is what drove a lot of attention from the public to our Farm and that’s where the veg boxes came from.
“We have always grown vegetables; my husband was growing vegetables since he was 8 in order to be self-sufficient in ourselves but then more and more people wanted fresh produce.
“There was a high demand for veg boxes and when I first put it out there fifty people wanted to come on board straight away.
“It was a bit overwhelming as it was new to us, we had no staff and we still are doing it on our own but thankfully we’ve got volunteers”.
All the vegetables that are in the boxes are seasonal and freshly harvested. Currently, the boxes contain: rhubarb, leeks, potatoes, chives, carrots, cabbage, leafy greens and free-range eggs.
“It’s straight from the ground into the box, out to the customer, simple as that”, said Janine.
Boxes start at £6 for single individuals, £8 for the small boxes which are for a family of 2 and £12.50 for their medium boxes as well as larger boxes for nurseries and schools.
Salford residents can join the veg box scheme by filling out a membership form for a 4-week organic veg box trail from Moss Lane Farm and more information can be found on their Facebook page.
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