NUTRITIOUS, seasonal, free wild food is being made available to families on the Rame Peninsula thanks to National Lottery funding.

Local social enterprise The Family Foraging Kitchen is sending out wild food boxes, filled with fresh produce as well as recipe cards with ideas for how to use the ingredients.

Families who’ve already received one of the boxes have been posting videos and photos of the meals they’ve made on the social enterprise’s Facebook page - where there are also short film explaining where ingredients can be sourced locally and how to use them.

Family Foraging Kitchen was founded by forager Vix Hill-Ryder in 2013. She realised that her community was struggling with not only food poverty, but perhaps also the confidence, knowledge or skills needed to cook with the bountiful array of wild, fresh food available on their doorstep.

The organisation was in danger during the first lockdown in March this year, having to cancel bookings for walks and courses and receiving no income. Whilst isolating, Vix persevered in writing funding applications.

“I was receiving messages on a weekly basis from families asking me what simple things they could pick up to eat when they were out walking as part of their daily exercise allowance,” she explained.

“So I began to make short films of myself and my two children, age three and eight, gathering and cooking at home. These were a huge hit and watched and shared by so many people.

“Yet I felt I needed to do more to help. Foraging can literally be a lifeline for low income families and individuals struggling to afford fresh food. Food box schemes are wonderful but having fresh produce to pair with those staple items is essential. “

The National Lottery Award of £30,000 will provide local households living in Millbrook, Kingsand, Cawsand, Antony and Torpoint with a monthly free wild food box scheme delivered to their door.

“We’ll also be able to encourage people to join us, for free, out on our walks and courses, learning how to pick and prepare those ingredients for themselves,” said Vix.

“The boxes contain recipe cards and ideas and during periods of lockdown, content is regularly be put online with cookery tips, videos and streamed virtual walks.”

The award has also created new job opportunities within the enterprise for three local people whose income or job has been affected during the pandemic.

To find out how to claim your free monthly wild food box or how to join Vix on her foraging walks, email [email protected]