A month or so ago a US publisher emailed to ask if I'd like to interview Elspeth Hay, about her recently published book about harvesting nuts., called 'Feed us with Trees' Obviously I agreed, I love talking to anyone about food . But what I didn't expect was how profoundly reading the book would both change and clarify my outlook. From how traditional hunter-gathering societies managed the land, to how trees could and should play a major role in modern agriculture, prepare to discover a missing piece of the modern food system.

You can download a copy of the book from here

https://newsociety.com/book/feed-us-with-trees/?aff=65

For the full episode, go to:

https://youtu.be/z6kIB9Vrl5I

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In this episode we're heading out of town And by 'out of town, I don't mean the countryside I mean suburban Auckland, on New Zealands North Island. This is a bit of a family affair, as the tour guide is my sister, and you hear the odd interjection from my Dad.

You'll also need a brief orentation session, so here we go. I was there at Christmas, which is coming into summer, and when talk about the climate up north, that's closer to the equator, with hotter summer and milder winters. 

So join me on on a tour of the The Lucida Place Community Orchard.The crops might be different - I mean olives and avacadoes for goodness sake - but a lot of the issues around running a community orchard are pretty much identical.

This was recorded on the fly, so expect lots of wildlife, wind, and the odd plane.

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This episode is a follow on from the previous episode, During our visit to the Action Day for Nature I went on a guided tour around the site. I must say it was an inspirational guide to what can be done to share our amenity spaces with nature. Full credit needs to given to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and Andy Steele, who has done such sterling work at the rugby ground.

But that isn't really what this episode is about, even though it takes place in that wonderful naturally managed space. Nor is it really an interview. At the end of the tour I fell into conversation with Janna, as we took a woodland walk around the edge of the field, ending back at the exhibition stalls. We'd both been invited to contribute some of our expertise by Andy during his talk, so it wasn't surprising that we should end up in conversation.

As it happened I'd left my mic on. Don't get me wrong I am a pro! and towards the end of the chat it became a formal interview, of sorts,.The recording starts at the end of the tour, with Janna recommending a bird identifier app, it's an unedited start - and it was just as spontaneous as it sounds This is a wide ranging conversation; about wild food, nature recording and our relationship with nature, even in the heart of a city

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The food system is never just about food - that's why it's so damnably complex. And that's why, as a food partnership, we are as likely to be found doing outreach at a health fair as seed swap. And that's why this month we were at an Action Day, where Yorkshire Wildlife Trust West Hull community Hub were showcasing some of the amazing changes they have made to the grounds of a local rugby club. We were there running a stall alongside with several other organisations, mostly with an environmental bent.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity to grab my mic, and spent half an hour talking to some of those who are working so hard to to bring nature and an ecological mindset into the heart of the city.

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We present "The Gourmet's Guide to Europe", a truly remarkable book, in many ways the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet of it's day; if you were an Edwardian Gentleman of refined tastes and deep pockets.

Replete with the attitudes and opinions of the day, this is a book that reveals the historical roots of what we might still call "fine dining"

So sit back and enjoy a bill of fayre that includes: when to avoid the restaurants at Trouville , a warning of what to expect at when dining at a German inn, and invaluable advice on where it is safe to take one's wife.

We are indebted to Mr Harry Goodwin, for his role as Lt Colonel Newnam-Davis.

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Cheese, Not everyone likes it, but those that do like it, tend to love it. Along with it's sometime partner, wine, it is one of those ancient foodstuffs that takes a few simple ingredients and seems produce infinite variety; thanks to traditional craft skills, and latterly, applied sciences.

A few months ago I was sharing an Uber with Carlos, on the way home from a conference, and he let slip that he was in international cheese judge. Intrigued and delighted, I knew we just had to get him on the podcast 

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I'm going to go out on a limb and say that many of the listeners to this podcast will have a fair idea of what a community food organisation is, and what is does. Some of you at least will work for one. But for those of you less familiar with what they are and how they do it , prepare for a bit of a deep dive into the whys and wherefores of a sector that has increased massively; in numbers, and in social importance, over recent years.

For those of you most familiar with this sector, it is always worth listening to another story. Because you know what they say, if you've met one community provider , then you've met just one community provider. The problems may be the same, but the solutions are as varied as they are inventive.EMS is a charity that has worked to reduce food and fuel poverty in Hull and the surrounding area for over 25 years.

If, as you listen to this interview, it sounds vaguely familiar, they were finalists in the BBC Food and Farming awards in 2022. They also appear regularly in the national media and just this year won a BBC make a difference award.

The keen eared among you may also realise that the John, who is mentioned at some point, appeared as a guest in episode 8.

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This is the final episode of this mini-series .

It marks 20 years since Hull City Council decided they would provide free school meals for all Primary pupils, saw that the regulations didn't allow for this, and then set about getting those regulations changed.

We've spoken to the policy maker and the policy deliverer. In this episode it's time to hear from one of the teachers who worked in school when the Eat Well Do Well initiative came into being.

Maureen Hulme was a primary school teacher in one the those neighbourhoods that benefited most from Eat Well Do Well. You may not recognise the names of Marfleet or Orchard Park, but the descriptions will be more than familiar.

We opened this series with a politician's belief in how food could benefit his fellow citizens. We've closed the series with a teacher proving how right he was.

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In the last episode of the pod cast we spoke with Colin Inglis, The Hull City Council leader who implemented the country's first ever provision of Universal Free School meals. Not only this, the council's catering department brought in a policy of providing healthy and nutritious meals, years before Jamie Oliver thankfully shamed the government into re-establishing minimum school food standards.

In part 2 of this 3 part mini series it made sense to talk with someone who delivered these much improved, and universally free, school lunches.

This where a bit of good luck plays it's part. Mike Clayphan was one of the managers of Hull Catering at the time of Eat Well Do Well, and after retirement he decided to spend a couple of years back in the kitchens working as a school cook. It just so happens he chose a school where I also work. So at the end of the summer term last year we got together in the school garden to say goodbye, and to talk about school food in general, and very much Eat Well Do Well in particular.

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As I'm sure many of you are aware, there is a campaign to to implement universal free school meals for every school pupil, whatever their circumstances.

perhaps, just perhaps, this is an idea whose time has come. It is, for the the being at least, already in operation in both Scotland and London.It may be a current consideration, but it's by no means a new idea.

20 years ago, here in Hull, the council showed the political will necessary to make it happen, going as far as getting the law changed to allow this to happen.The Eat Well Do Well Scheme provided free school meals for every primary school pupil, and more than this, the council also ensued that the meals were of high quality, and nutritious at a time when successive government had abandoned the principle of maintaining school food standards.

This is the first of three episodes about the Eat Well Do Well scheme, and examine how and why it was implemented, it's effects, and what we can learn for the current campaign

In this episode I talk with Colin Inglis, the council leader who initiated this scheme, despite scepticism even from within his own party, So settle in for a story of high ideals and bruising politics.

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