So today I went to the Concrete Garden, a community run urban garden growing food for the people of Possilpark and the wider community. I heard about the open day as I follow the Glasgow Real Junk Food Project on Facebook and have wanted to try some of their stuff for a while but couldn’t get to any of their events before as they sell out or due to my crazy work shifts. I went along with a few of my friends and it was a great event and they had lovely weather for it.

When we first got there you could hear the music and smell the wood burning pizza oven. A few of my friends had some slices later on when I was distracted elsewhere but I went to the ladies who were making chutney and pesto. They had live demonstrations of how to make your own chutneys and were giving out recipes. I ended up being lucky and getting a jar of their wild garlic pesto to go home with on our way out as they were finishing up as we left.

In the main garden area there was information on being more environmentally friendly and sustainable. There was free food available for the community to sample some of the delights you can make when you grow your own and a huge selection of cheese. I had a taste of them all except the blue cheese. Delicious. I also grabbed a slice of a pea, mint and spring onion frittata which certainly filled a hole. There was loads more to try and some of my friends sampled the wraps.

Next to this was the Glasgow Real Junk Food Project stand. They are a brilliant team of people who collect edible waste food from supermarket that would otherwise go to landfill and make meals out of it. They only ask for donations in return for their grub. I tried their parsnip, apple and potato soup with croutons and it was hearty and tasty and kept me warm as I wandered round. Kids were happily trying out the craft stalls where you could make a bird feeder or mask, paint a garden gnome or make a pendant or pencil out of wood. This was all provided with information about other workshops and events that were going on at the garden and in the community to get involved in growing, cooking and crafts. I have to say I may take part in one of their woodcraft sessions if I get chance and am gutted I can’t attend their foraging day at Mugdock Country park as I already have plans.

I left with some leaflets and a pencil and pendant I had made. The one thing that I thought was really sad about todays open day was that it wasn’t busier. Money is tight for everyone these days and I was surprised the food didn’t get more people there. It would have been a great afternoon for any family and had a really good message about food, cooking and sustainability. It is also a brilliant use of what would otherwise be a disused bit of concrete in Possilpark. I absolutely love the idea behind these kind of community projects and if they only reach a few people and change their actions and broaden their horizons, especially in more deprived communities then they are doing wonderful work in my book. Well done!

Foodie xx

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