Abundance Wimbledon Newsletter
24 August 2020


Welcome to Abundance Wimbledon - 24 August 2020 Newsletter

With the recent hot weather some of our more adventurous pickers (Yes Liz and Jane - am talking about you!) have braved the heat and rescued a plethora of fruit from local trees.  We have also welcomed new pickers and new donors - we just need some more volunteers as drivers and supporters for Fruit Day on September 19. 

Read on for some great information on what has been happening  this season (and of course all the opportunities still available!).


Fruit Day - Saturday 19 September 2020, 11am - 2.30pm
St Marks Church Hall, St Mark's Place (enter via Compton Road), Wimbledon SW19 7ND

We have determined (and very excited to confirm!) that it will be safe to continue our 10th Annual Fruit Day (Covid Compliant) activities under the following guidelines (as safety measures for all):
  • Entry via Compton Road only
  • Social distancing rules will apply
  • Masks necessary
  • One-way route through our stalls
You will notice that there will be lots of opportunities to buy our locally made produce (jams, chutneys, cordials, cakes and biscuits), but, based on government guidelines, we have had to reduce some of our activities.  Having said that we are convinced that all guests to our Fruit Day will experience the same friendly, fun atmosphere that has been in the past.  This is a great opportunity to support your local community as we raise funds (through sales) which are donated to local charities.

We are all about safety - both for our volunteers and visitors.

Daily updates - Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Each day we are posting information about our activities on Facebook and Twitter.  To get the true experience of being a part of Abundance Wimbledon, please follow us:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AbundanceWim/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abundancewim

Our Juliet's Zoom chat with Sustainable Merton

Last Wednesday (19 August), Juliet chatted with Amy from Sustainable Merton about Abundance Wimbledon and its successes over the last 10 years.  We put together a Powerpoint Presentation which is now available for viewing on our website.

Honey Update - the bees have been busy!

Martin Way honey harvest is well underway, with the summer honey crop now extracted and being jarred ready for the honey stall on Fruit Day. So, get to Fruit Day early to grab yourself a jar!

What's been picked, from where and by whom?

The photo above is of our pickers Liz and Joan who - true to Abundance Wimbledon Spirit - went out and pickedon the hottest day of the year to rescue these beauties! 

Liz and Joan are just part of a full team of people who have been rescuing fruit and vegetables this fortnight.  And yes, it has been a bumper fortnight with an incredible 562 kgs of fruit picked, consisting of:

Apples- 441.5kgs
Pears - 117 kgs
Blackberries - 3 kgs
Sloe Berries - 0.5 kgs

Our total for this season is now 845kgs of saved fruit!

Sincere thanks to all our donors:
Nicola, Marie, Adam, Gabrielle & Family, Chris, Aziza, Carol, Leyann, Tomas, Matt, Richard, Helen, Margaret, Trina, Jo, June, Ron, Leila, Mavis, Greg & Faye

Thanks also to our amazing pickers:
Juliet, Sarah, Sue, Di, Jane, Carole, Barbara, Liz, Joan, Adam, Melanie, Gilli, Brian, Bryony, Mary Jane, Alyson and Laura

Regenerate clients get some fresh Fruit Crumble

Local charity Regenerate recently accepted 10kgs of apples and 8kgs of pears that were picked by Juliet and Barbara.  Caroline (a driver for Regenerate) came across to Wimbledon to collect (thanks Caroline!) and this picture shows one of the volunteers at Regenerate later preparing the pears and apples ready to be made into a Fruit Crumble for their elderly and vulnerable clients.  Regenerate provides meal packages for its clients, delivering them fresh 5 days a week (with extra supplied for the last 2 days per week).  We love seeing where our fruit goes and especially when we get to show you how our fruit is used by the charities.

Thanks to Juliet for organising this donation!

This fortnight, the following charities received donations from us: So far this season we have donated more than 40% of all picked fruit (348 kgs) to local Charities. 

The rest of the fruit is sent to our teams of jam, chutney, jelly and cordial makers who are hard at work producing great products for our Fruit Day.

If you know a local charity who would be interested in receiving some of the picked fruit - please let us know.  We generally have a large abundance of what we call "cooking" apples - not necessarily great to eat but perfect for apple pies and cakes.  With many charities cooking meals for the most vulnerable in these Covid-19 times, we are keen to ensure that these apples (and any other fresh produce) does not go to waste.  Please email us at [email protected] with their details.

Can you help deliver picked fruit?

If you have a car and are willing (and enjoy!) driving around our area, we are always looking for people to pick up our donated fruit and vegetables and take them to the charities.  Please let us know if you can help out.  [email protected]

Growing plants for Fruit Day

Last year, the plant stall at Fruit Day sold a range of plants, mostly food related. We’d really welcome donations of plants, especially fruit, herbs and other edible plants. So keep us in mind if you have too many of something, are planting up runners or sowing winter crops ... and please put in a few extra to donate to our stall!

Mum's prize winning Raw Apple Cake
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/21007/moms-prize-winning-raw-apple-cake/
 
After some googling, I have found this great recipe for Apple Cake.  All credits to All Recipes (link to original above), but to make it easier, I have typed out the recipe for you below...

Prep:30 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Servings: 12
1 - 9x13 inch pan

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs eggs, beaten
1 cup sour milk
2 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Make the topping by mixing together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, chopped walnuts and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix together 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Make a well in the center, and pour in the oil, eggs and sour milk. Beat until smooth, then fold in chopped apples.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with topping mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Enjoy!
 
Can you volunteer to support Fruit Day on 19 September?

We are looking for:
  • Stall volunteers
  • Set up volunteers
  • Pack up volunteers
  • Fruit Day Coordinator
  • Cake makers
  • Plants for our plant stall (so keen gardeners good at making stock for the stall)
If you have some skills (they're multiplying!) and time available, please contact us.

Our next newsletter is due in two weeks!  Feel free to send any news to our editor - Sally at [email protected].

** To get in touch about any of the above, please just reply to this email **

Best wishes and sincere thanks from us all

Juliet and the team at Abundance Wimbledon
 
 
Our mailing address is: [email protected]
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