Veggies Catering Campaign aims to balance a preference for fresh, locally produced foods, supporting local suppliers and reducing ‘food miles’, with encouraging the demand for organic foods. We do not therefore claim to use only organic ingredients and our entire operation is not certified as organic, due to the disproportionate fees for registering a small volunteer-led grass-roots business such as ours for Soil Association Certification. However we aspire to the principles of the Wholesome Food Association.
Veggies Burgers and Sausages are made from our own fully organic mixes, using organic soya TVP from France. Although sourced as locally as possible we are reducing the use of soya, in favour of hemp flour, which is highly nutritious, and can be grown in the UK without artificial farm additives, though it is currently comes fro Germany via Tree Harvest
Other organically grown ingredients include wholewheat breadcrumb, oats, onion, garlic, malt flour, beetroot. Our suppliers advise us that the wheat is “usually from the UK, sometimes from Finland or Sweden”. Our oats are supplied by Morning Foods from Cheshire & sourced from UK or the EU, and malt flour is supplied from Essex-based EDME, from grain grown in East Anglia.
We bake our own cakes in-house using, when available, organic flours locally stoneground, 2 miles away at Green’s Mill in Sneinton. Other organic and/or gluten free flours come (via Lembas) from Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire or Dove’s Farm in Berkshire.
Our bread and other baked goods are certainly locally produced as they are often baked in-house at the Sumac Centre, where we are based. However when we are ‘on tour‘ we source bread from other local bakers.
Other wholefoods are supplied by Lembas, the Sheffield-based wholefood wholesaler for the region. Their entire range is gm-free and vegetarian, and they encourage the use of organic produce where available. Lembas also distribute Veggies Burgers, sosages and mixes, hand-made from organic ingredients in Veggies all-vegan kitchen!
Vegetables are supplied by vegetable markets & stores in the heart of our local community. Although not organic, they couldn’t be fresher or more locally sourced. Subject to availability, chemical-free produce can be obtained from Ecoworks community market garden in Nottingham, Eden Farms at Spilsby, Lincs or Red Earth Organics at Southwell, Notts. Other suppliers of locally and/or organically grown foods can be found from throughout the UK from the Big Barn website or foodcoops.org.
We avoid the use of palm oil in both foods and fuel. Whilst Suma margarine (used for sandwiches & cake icing) contains sustainably sourced palm oil, our own Burger & Sausage mixes contain no palm oil – indeed no oils or fats at all. We have campaigned directly against the genetic modification of foods and the globalisation of supply.
An increasing amount of produce, including herbs and some salad, comes from our own vegan organic urban community garden at the Sumac Centre, supporting the ideals of the Movement for Compassionate Living, to promote simple living and vegan self-reliance as a remedy to the exploitation of humans, animals and the Earth, with guidance from the Vegan Organic Network.
If you (or we) have to go to a supermarket, then we consider the Co-op a better option than, for example A$da/Walmart and other corporate blots on the (green belt) landscape, like Tesco, if for no other reason than that the Co-op has a good policy on labelling products suitable for vegans and a commitment to Fairtrade.
More details of the products that we use can be found on our Ethical & Green Policy pages.
Details of the ingredients that we don’t use are listed on the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation’s Glossary of Animal Substances
This is why we don’t use calves milk
Organic foods are indicated below:
Veggies Burgers and Sausages. Chilli Burgers . Hemp Burgers . Festival Burger Mix . ‘No Gluten’ Mix
Wholefood Ingredients for freshly prepared meals.
Tomato Ketchup . Egg-free Mayo . Wholegrain Mustard
Fair Trade Teas & (some) coffees, (including sugar and soya milk)
Cola, Lemonade, Ginger Beer
Herbs and other fresh produce from our own garden!
Zapatista Coffee helps the people of Chiapas Mexico to safeguard their own idioms & culture, organising their own access to education, health & land through direct democracy. Get Zapatista Coffee from Veggies at events with #FoodByVeggies or online at https://t.co/5O0L2NEMp5 pic.twitter.com/phrD3IpjJ5
— Veggies Catering 🌱 (@veggiesnottm) May 9, 2019
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