During lockdown, residents in Slaughterford started a village vegetable box, raising money for St Nicholas Church, after teaming together to create thriving allotments.
Vegetables have been growing in resident’s gardens and on a section of land that a local landowner offered to the community to use as allotments during the pandemic. A variety of produce was grown, including sweetcorn, rocket, pak choi, tomatoes, chillies and chard.
After produce accumulated, the village vegetable box initiative kick-started, to avoid food waste and to enable residents and local walkers to benefit from the harvest of the lockdown community. Every week, churchgoers and locals shared their surplus produce into a box and later added plants and homemade jams to the box.
Merope Sylvester, churchwarden of St Nicholas Slaughterford, said,
“The box has been used both by the villagers and the walkers. It has led to several in-depth discussions with walkers who seem to like the idea of taking something home after their walk but has also benefited those in the village who either did not grow particular items or who do not have vegetable gardens.”
The Ven Christopher Bryan, Archdeacon of Malmesbury, said,
“This time last year I travelled down some tiny lanes to sing Evensong at the beautiful church in a field at Slaughterford. So much has happened in this past year, but the sense of community and service to one another is now even stronger. It’s wonderful to see this creative and imaginative venture”.
Slaughterford is a small Cotswold village on the bank of the ByBrook river, with 20 houses. The residents are now hoping that the veg box will continue in the future. Funds raised from the veg box are being donated to St Nicholas to help pay their Parish Share.