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Northampton farm opens its field for spooky pumpkin pick your own fun
Thursday, October 17, 2019
A Northampton farm is opening up its field so visitors can pick their own pumpkins ahead of Halloween.
The Brampton branch of Smiths Farm Shop has decided to go all out for the spooky season and invite families to come along and hand select which orange vegetable they would like to take home.
Smiths Farm shop staff will also be on hand to help each child pick their chosen pumpkin, while also telling them some facts about how they grow and harvest them each year.
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Proprietor of the farm shop, Adrian Smith said: “Being a family-run business we wanted to hold an activity which gets children more involved. Every year we grow our own pumpkins from seed in the greenhouse, and then plant them in the field, it’s such a magnificent plant that can produce such a large pumpkin from such a tiny seed.
“As well as helping visitors to pick their own pumpkin, we’ll also be on hand with suggestions on how to cook with the vegetable and its seeds. People are very happy to buy pumpkins, but aside from using them for Halloween, they seem to be stuck with what to do with them. So, we’re saying this year to do less carving and more cooking.”
The field will be open from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, October 27.
The Farm Shop, which also has another branch at Billing, has been growing pumpkins for 30 years. In addition to pumpkins, the farm also grows a large range of squashes, such as butternuts, crown prince and little gems.
Adrian added: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming the people of Northamptonshire onto our farm and carving out some fun. We’re sure the activity will pumpkin spice up Halloween, after all, if you’ve got it, haunt it.”
In a bid to reduce packaging waste, the Smith family are requesting people bring their own bags to collect their pumpkins in.
Northampton farm shop chain supports homeless ahead of national zero waste campaign
Friday, August 30, 2019
Hundreds of homeless people and struggling families across Northampton are set to be fed this autumn as regular food parcels are to be donated to a shelter.
Smith’s Farm Shop, which has two sites across the town, has announced it will give Northampton’s Hope Centre, on Campbell Street, all its food that is past its sell-by-date.
The announcement comes as the national Zero Waste campaign is launched between September 2 to September 6, which aims to encourage householders, businesses, organisations, schools, universities and community groups waste less.
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Pressure is also mounting on large supermarket chains to cut down on the amount of plastic packaging it uses.
Smith’s Farm Shop proprietor Adrian Smith said: “As a family-run business we are passionate about helping others and showing everyone some kindness. We also care very deeply for the environment and being as ethical as we can be.
“Across the company we’ve launched our own zero waste campaign, which means we’ll regularly be donating out-of-date food to the Hope Centre where staff work tirelessly to tackle poverty and homelessness across the town and beyond.
“In my view, no one should be going hungry at night, so it made total sense to donate this food. Legally, sell-by-dates must be adhered to, but I think most people will have ignored those dates from time to time if they find a tin in the cupboard and discovered the food to be absolutely fine to eat. I would rather use these items to help someone who is going through a bad time at the moment, then throw them away into landfill.”
Some of the food items Adrian has recently donated have included tinned foods and vegetables.
Hope Centre’s CEO Robin Burgess said: “We are hugely grateful to Adrian and his team at Smith’s Farm Shop for their kind donations. Staff and volunteers at the Hope centre work hard to improve the lives of anyone affected by poverty, especially homelessness, and providing hot meals to them goes a long way in ensuring people are being fed.
“There is still a lot of stigma surrounding homeless people and why they no longer have a safe place to live. We are always looking at ways to engage with the community, proving that some people just fall on bad times and have no other choice than to take to the streets.
“Adrian’s kind gesture will hopefully get other people thinking about what they might be able to do within their household for the people of Northampton as we are always looking for food and clothing donations, along with new volunteers.”