The Forest of Dean is home to orchards, rivers, forests, hedgerows, fields and valleys - enough diversity to satisfy the most demanding palette. Traditionally we must have been pretty much self-sustaining and nothing can be kinder to the planet than composting the waste we produce to improve soil for growing vegetables or feeding leftover scraps to livestock. Now supermarkets are beginning to encroach and the food that they supply may well have travelled around the world (and sometimes back again). Whether this has increased the quality and diversity of what is on our plates is debatable. What is clear is that the supply chain is further and further removed from us - we produce more food waste but this is not necessarily enriching our soil with estimates of about 40% going to landfill and our animals are subject to more and more legislation post foot and mouth and BSE. The traditional right to put pigs out to pannage is barely taken up now; meanwhile we don't know what medicines and feed our supermarket meat is made up of.
It's not just that antibiotics fed to mass produced meat, but the conditions in which livestock are reared - as the distance increases, so we see less and less of the impact our buying habits create. Fruit growers working for export markets are often subject to dangerous carcinogenic pesticides with a negative impact on life expectancy. Fairtrade produce is often not subject to these chemical cocktails but even if it doesn't claim to be organic, workers have a much greater security and stake in their future as they're guaranteed a fair price for their work. There is an increasing range of Fairtrade produce including coffee, bananas, tea and a fantastic range of chocolate now available.
While the organic market is increasing apace, and we have our own well-established and respected producers here, the cost of marketing and Soil Association certification are often too much for smallholdings and traditional producers. Although it's possible to buy organic Italian apples, this seems a crazy direction to take whilst local varieties that have never had a whiff of pesticide, can lie rotting in the orchard.
Increasingly leading chefs advocate the use of organic and free range produce to create often simple but distinctive regional delicacies and those food retailers locally who have taken up this scheme enthusiastically are beginning to reap the benefits: pies made with local beer and local beef, Old Spot sausages, Double Gloucester cheese, summer fruit wines or jams from the hedgerow.
There are other reasons too for buying local. Prices at farm gates and at local greengrocers' are often lower (compare the costs of apples and potatoes). The food is unlikely to have travelled the vast distances, or to have seen the combination of pesticides often required to meet the quality, colour and size demands of supermarkets, and money spent on local produce is much more likely to stay in local hands rather than travelling out. Finally, you probably won't come home with shrink-wrap and polystyrene casing in surplus carriers. Compared to the rest of the UK, the rural nature of the Forest still allows us to maintain a special relationship with the land most other areas don't come near to enjoying. We should value this dearly.
Retail delicatessen offering the discerning customer a superb range of cheeses, charcuterie, teas, coffees, wines, baskets and hampers for presentation prepared to your requirements. Filled baguettes and picnics catered for.... more
Apples and plums in season plus honey from time to time. (on the A48)... more
Award winning organic wholesale bakery producing wide range of speciality breads, cakes and savouries, vegatarian and vegan. Soil Association Licensee, Forest Food Charter.... more
We are an organic, biodynamic, vegetable box scheme, delivering around Lydney, Newnham, Whitecroft. Our scheme is seasonal, growing 50 varieties of fruit and vegetables locally. (Soil Association: organic standard, Demter: bio-dynamic standard).... more
Rough, spun, raw or washed wool. Angora and cashgora fibre.... more
Part of a growing worldwide movement promoting a uniquely sustainable approach to organic farming and gardening. Biodynamic produce is certified with the Demeter Trademark (UK6). Demeter comes to you without artificial fertilisers, added chemicals or irradiation and genetically modified material ... more
Order a pinta delivered direct to you. Organic milk available. Deliveries in Ruspidge, Soudley, Cinderford.... more
Brookes Farmhouse Dairy Ice Cream is made using rich double cream and whole milk with the best natural flavours blended to produce the unforgettable taste of homemade ice cream. 75% of ingredients sourced locally, local deliveries, no colouring, no preservatives.... more
Fresh local produce. Free home deliveries. Local free range eggs.... more
Chutneys - over 30 varieties available as fruit and veg come into season curds - lemon, lemon and lime, mango, passion fruit jams - all kinds as fruit comes into season Vinegars - blackberry, blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry Based in Sedbury, uses either homegrown or local fruit. All produ... more
Village shop and post office where we always stock local eggs, milk and butter. We also stock Freeminers beer and provide an outlet for local small producers of plants, fruit and vegetables in season.... more
Local butcher selling local traditional rare breed beef, pork and lamb (eg. traditional Hereford cattle, Gloucester Old Spot). Handmade sausages, traditional dry cured bacon. Tewkesbury bacon (honey, golden syrup and Jamaican pepper blend) and Forest bacon cured in the local beer.... more
Supplier of local meats including organic beef and chickens. Game available in season and venison (including sausages) October to March.... more
We provide a local wholesale and retail service supplying a complete range of fresh produce and delicatessen foods. Where possible we source our stock from local suppliers, ie. mushrooms, soft fruit, butter, ice cream, cheese and so on. We supply hotels, restaurants, pubs with most of their food ne... more
Free range eggs, vegetables, delicious lamb, Aberdeen Angus beef, pork from small licensed organic farm. Organic licence ensures highest livestock welfare and freedom from pesticides, herbicides and artificial fertilisers. Links with other Forest of Dean organic licensees to provide pure, safe, tast... more
Coleford family butchers est 1930s. All meat supplied through Ensor's local abattoir. Own cooked ham.... more
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Everything on sale is local, produced wtihin 30 miles of the market. This reduces food miles and so is better for our environment - less traffic on the roads, less pollution, less food travelling up and down the motorways. We insist on the highest standards of labelling and food safety from ou... more
The food we sell here at Forest Food is of the highest quality and exceptionally fresh. It is all supplied by small and medium sized food producers in our area, the Forest of Dean, Wye Valley and Lower Severn Vale. These farmers, cheese makers, bakers, brewers and market gardeners take great care an... more
Professional advice on health and vitamin remedies; 5 fully qualified therapists offering: Bowen, reflexology, aromatherapy, reiki, body massage, Indian head massage, accupuncture, Hopi ear candles, physiotherapy and non-surgical face lifts.... more
Our producers can let you taste a variety of local food from apple juice to ostrich meat, chutney, local cheese, bacon, wine, bhajis, curries, jams. Cookery demonstrations, occasionally crafts and music. All year 10am - 2pm:... more
our Seasons Foods is a family run organic box scheme based in the Forest of Dean. We deliver to your door or workplace on a weekly basis. Boxes are available in different sizes to suit your family requirements, from a £6 fruit box, up to £30 family box. Our boxes are full of nat... more
Quality local beers including Freeminer - a no nonsense beer for drinkers who appreciate beer with taste; Speculation Ale - a rich premium strength ale, plenty of hops and loads of rich malt flavours and the beer departs leaving a complex but balanced hop and malt aftertaste. Smoky and sensual. Ot... more
We only sell the Gloucester Rare Breeds - Gloucester cattle, Glos Old Spot pigs, Cotswold lamb. Also pig roasts and barbecue catering.... more
The orchards at Haylings Farm are of historic interest. Many of the trees are over 100 years old and there are 20 varieties of plums as well as an assortment of apples and pears. The orchards are open for pick your own at weekends during the plum picking season - generally in August (signposted from... more
From the milk of our own Friesian cows from our farm overlooking the River Severn we make two very special cheeses. Gloucestershire Camembert is a smooth mould ripened cheese with an edible rind. The centre of this cheese softens, like it's French cousins, as it matures and the taste develops. ... more
Quality strawberries and apples picked in their prime for eating. Apple juice pressed from single varieties hand picked when tree ripe. Award winning at West Country Food Award and National Fruit Show.... more
Busy bees are producing more than just honey in the Forest of Dean.Beekeeper Doug Isles has turned his natural soap, candles and hand cream business into a real hive of activity. Doug runs Hudnalls Apiaries from his home in St Briavels, where he keeps some of his 300 hives. The rest are locate... more
Producer of top quality meat supplying private individuals and quite a number of Michelin starred restaurants.... more
Well hung beef, lam and free range eggs from our farm carefully produced to Organic standards. We sell beef, lamb and free range eggs from the farm or Lydney and Newent Farmers' Markets. Traditionally reared, locally slaughtered and packed for us. The beef is well hung for maximum taste and tende... more
Authentic Indian sub-continent curries and snacks (samosas, onion bhajis, lamb kebabs, etc.) cooked in our own home kitchen to exacting standards. Every effort is made to source locally produced ingredients. KK also produce a range of delicious pickles and chutneys. Parties, events and special occas... more
Producer of craft ciders and perries, bottled and draft. Can be bought at Redbrook PO, Browns-Llandogo, The George - St.Briavels, Miners Arms - Whitecroft and agricultural shows.... more
Producing quality breeding and fatstock from pure Glos Old Spots and Berkshire pigs. Supplying local butchers with these lovely traditional breeds. All stock reared locally. Members of British Pig Association.... more
Unlike supermarkets milkmen source mainly locally (with bottles returned locally) and this means that local farmers are also getting a fairer deal and the milk is not travelling huge distances. On top of this they offer a range of other products, like local potatoes for example. Milkmen are a consis... more
Availale in denominations of £5 or £10 - these can be purchased through Coleford Visitor Centre, Coleford District Council Offices, Cinderford and Lydney One Stop Shops and Newent Visitor Centre. Nearly 100 businesses participate - a great way of supportin glocal food and produce.... more
Specalise in quality poultry including free-range chickens, ducks, geese and white and bronze turkeys. Fed on a special mix of home-grown feed which is GM and additive free, all the birds are processed on the farm and finished by hand. They can be found at the Cirencester, Stroud, Cheltenham Cardi... more
Good Fish Guide - the ultimate consumer guide to eating eco-friendly fish.... more
Organic dairy farm using home produced milk to make a range of 5 farmhouse cheeses: Double Gloucester, "The Forester", Dunlop (a hard but mellow chese) including a smoked version and Birdwood Blue Heaven (an elusive blue cheese well worth buying if you see it). Available from Over Farm Shop, La Bode... more
Training beekeepers: summer 8 week practical course; winter 10 week theory. All in Newent or District, minimal cost, one evening per week. Honey from training apiary for sale.... more
Newent Memorial Hall, every Friday 10-11am.... more
Local beef, lamb, pork and game in season. Local veg and eggs. Free range poultry to order.... more
Ragman's Lane Farm is a working farm using organic and permaculture principles. We have been selling locally for over ten years, producing vegetables, chicken, apple juice, cider, perry, honey, liquid plant manure and Shiitake mushroom logs. We run courses in sustainable land use and our bunkh... more
The RBST is the only charity concerned with the conservation of Britain's rare breeds of farm livestock, many of which are used to benefit the environment. We also promote the fine eating quality of their meat which is marketed locally to the area of production.... more
Preserves, chutneys, pickles and pickled eggs produced in family kitchens which are located in the Forest of Dean. Local produce is used where possible and we make seasonally. No added preservatives are used in the making of our products.... more
Fruit farm since the 1930s. Seasonal opening selling soft and top fruit; Katy and Discovery apples, greengages, plums, raspberries. Off the A4136.... more
Organic horticultural smallholding producing seasonal vegetables and fruit, chicken and duck eggs, and meat (subject to availability). Our produce is sold in the farm shop, open Tues-Fri 2-6pm, Sat 9am-6pm and Sunday mornings. Orders taken by phone. Soil Association certified.... more
Severn Sider Cider is a careful blend of traditional cider fruit that have neither been sprayed nor fertilised. The juice has been fermented and matured in oak barrels which gives it a roundness and depth of flavour.... more
Farm shop selling range of local fruit, eggs, milk and butter.... more
Traditional hand-made Gloucester cheese using our own homebred cows milk and non-animal rennet. Also whey-fed Gloucester Old Spot home-cured bacon, sausages and sometimes fresh pork. Member Specialist Cheesemakers Assn. Prize-winner British Cheese Awards. Local deliveries to 10 miles or included on ... more
St Anne's Vineyard is a small family run business in a beautiful rural setting. The vineyard was initially planted in 1979, and came into commercial production in 1984. A wide range of vine varieties are grown, many of them on an experimental basis. We offer for sale, from our vineyard shop, an i... more
Wholefoods. Vitamins, minerals and herb remedies. Hundreds of organic lines. Locally sourced produce. Deliver locally. Forest Food Charter. 18 Newerne Street, Lydney Tel: 01594 841907 15 Market Place, Coleford Tel: 01594 810303 113 Monnow Street, Monmouth Tel: 01600 715429 4 Gloucester Rd, R... more
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Milk and juice cartons are 75 per cent paper, 20 % polyethylene and 5 per cent aluminium foil. Call the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment on 020 8977 6116 for freepost stickers so that you can send flattened tetra packs cartons for processing.