May 2, 2013, by Malvika Johal

The amazing Sutton Bonington Farmers Market

Written by Tom Barnes (English and Latin 2012) 

I think it’s fair to say as the newest member of Alumni Relations, that we are a team of ‘foodies’   Therefore could there have been a more appropriate outing on a beautiful sunny day than the Sutton Bonington Farmer’s Market?

Needless to say we all had a great time, with a fantastic selection of fresh local produce, and some unusual twists, The Sutton Bonington Farmer’s Market caters for both the safest and most adventurous of palettes.
Set up in 2011 by 4 Postgraduate students, the Sutton Bonington Farmer’s Market sought to rectify the disappointment of living in the heart of the Nottinghamshire Countryside yet lacking easy access to high quality local produce. Thus, aided by a grant from the University and the Old Kingstonian association, they were able to hold their first Farmer’s Market which now runs on a monthly basis, and is showing absolutely no sign of stopping.
A true mark of its success is the many of the stalls from the inaugural event return month after month. Great news if you like outstanding quality pork pies, chocolate, fudge, ice cream, venison burgers, ciders and ale to name but a few of the many products on offer.

Aside from the conventional produce, the Farmer’s Market gives the opportunity for any local food producer to sell their wares. A fantastic array of Indian spices and Thai street food for instance. For the more daring, you could have picked up a wild squirrel, or a ‘Penguin Pie’ for dinner. The latter caused a particular trauma to a group of primary school children (children of the horsemeat generation) who declared, ‘putting a penguin in a pie? You should be ashamed!’ Little did they know the principal ingredient was smoked haddock.

The Farmer’s Market is now run by a committee of 7 current students, who are gleefully steering it into its third year of operation. With such successes as being awarded ‘Market of the Year’ at the BBC Food and Farming Awards in 2012, it seems a catastrophic shame that more students don’t make the hopper bus trip from University Park for the afternoon. I fully implore current students to make that giant hopper bus leap; and to any Alumni in the area make a visit to Sutton Bonington Farmer’s Market and indulge in absolutely everything. We certainly did, and don’t regret a thing.

Check out the SB Farmer’s Market’s website: www.suttonboningtonfarmersmarket.org and their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/SBFarmersMkt/?fref=ts.

The next SB Farmer’s Market takes places on Wednesday 5^th June. 

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