An apple a day? Let's hope so

Rosie Boycott
08.10.09

Shops tell the story of an area, and nowhere was this more true than at a Costcutter store I visited on a Tower Hamlets' estate a few days ago.

The borough has one of the highest childhood obesity levels in London and looking round the store, it was easy to see why.

Up until last week, the only fruit and veg on sale were bags of onions, garlic and lemons, stored at the back of the shop, at the end of rows of booze.

Nothing seasonal, fresh or green in sight. It makes a mockery of the idea of eating five-a-day if all you can get is fast food, snacks and a mountain of sweets.

The reason for my visit was to launch a wonderful new Buywell scheme that is helping 17 local shops increase their range and quality of fresh fruit and veg.

The sight of perky rows of English tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces, carrots, as well as bananas and pineapple, was in luscious contrast to the mournful sight of wilting produce we see in some neighbourhood outlets.

Through the project, staff are trained to become evangelical about these healthier options. In a previous pilot of a similar scheme run by the Department of Health in the north-east of England, sales of fruit and vegetables immediately increased by an average of 40 per cent.

Every year in Somerset, we go to Apple Day at Julian Temperley's Burrow Hill Farm. Julian has many claims to fame — not least that he is the sole supplier of cider to Glastonbury.

He is also the father of the designer Alice Temperley and his noisy, celebratory apple day attracts a large crowd to sample this year's vintage over a lunch of local cheese, bread, hams and pickles.

Now, to my delight, I've discovered that apple days are also happening across the capital.

Apple Days celebrate and reclaim what was perhaps our national fruit, but is now typically imported from New Zealand.

The London Orchard Project, a new initiative to promote urban fruit growing, will be one of the hosts of the Apple Day celebrations taking place at Alara in Camden on 18 October.

Events are happening in Walthamstow, Camden, Kennington, Southwark, the South Bank and other areas throughout October.

Apple Day events vary in their focus, but are typically an opportunity to find out more about the thousands of apple varieties we have in the UK.

They sometimes include apple cake and chutney competitions and apple games and activities — classics such as apple bobbing but also the longest peel competition and apple-and-spoon races.

The London Orchard Project will be holding a series of training activities to make sure Londoners regain what are now often the lost skills of pruning and grafting to be able to look after their new orchards and ensure an abundant harvest for years to come.

You can grow dwarf fruit trees in pots on your balconies or full-sized ones in your garden and now is the time of year to get planting.

The opportunities are endless: maybe one day the capital's pubs will all be serving London cider.

See www.commonground.org.uk/appleday/a-events for a full list of events across London. For information on The London Orchard Project, contact orchard@thelondonorchardproject.org