Trail offers a taste of Horowhenua

Sustainability is strong focus of 2022’s event

Horowhenua’s Taste Trail will this year be focussing on sustainability, and not only during the event. Its participating producers will explain to visitors how they are working towards a zero waste future, said chair Erica Guy.

“We will be commercially composting all used food containers on the day, thanks to our partners Horowhenua District Council and Organic Wealth. We will have recycling on all sites. QR codes will be used for the site map so that information on each site does not need to be printed. Merchandise will be reused, like the lanyards we will be collecting at the end to use again next year.”

To lessen its impact on the environment, one of the event’s producers, Genoese Foods, has moved its fresh basil supply to be 100 per cent New Zealand sourced, removing the need to use agrichemicals to meet biosecurity importation requirements on the basil it had been importing from Fiji. The move has also reduced travel emissions and the need for fumigation using greenhouse gases.

Another producer, Woodhaven Gardens, has been recognised with a number of regional and national awards for its sustainable farming practices. The fresh vegetable producer is always looking at emerging technologies

and is currently trialing regenerative farming practices. In the past year Lewis Farms has installed solar panels on its packhouse roof to generate 50 per cent of its annual energy needs on site. The asparagus, strawberry

and raspberry producer also seeks to minimise food waste by using every single berry it grows.

The berries are either sold fresh, in ice cream, made into jam or sold frozen.

“These are just some of the

amazing initiatives being undertaken to practice what we preach.

‘‘Those that come along to the Taste Trail will get the best insight into the hard work and efforts the producers are making,” Guy said.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2022 Horowhenua Taste Trail being held on Saturday November 26. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tastetrail.co.nz.

Horowhenua Taste Trail organising committee; John Clarke of Woodhaven Gardens, Andrew Parkin of Genoese Foods, chair Erica Guy, Cat Lewis of Lewis Farms and Ron Turk of Turk’s Poultry will be promoting sustainability this year, both for the trail and their own businesses.