Care home gardeners celebrate their allotments

A CARE home threw open its gardens to the public as part of a campaign to promote allotments.

Belong Macclesfield, on Kennedy Avenue, boasts an impressive garden and allotments, which are tended by residents of the care village, staff and visiting groups.

Fruit and vegetables cultivated there are harvested and dished up in meals at the care home.

The events were launched as part of National Allotments Week.

Caroline Ray, general manager for Belong Macclesfield, said: “Gardening not only serves to provide homegrown food for people living within the village, but also provides a focus for social interactions and an opportunity to engage in gentle exercise.”

She added: “There has been great interest in our home grown project, both from those who have had a lifelong interest in gardening to residents just looking to get involved in a new hobby or spend more time outdoors.

“I’ve seen so many wonderful foods coming into our kitchens, from lettuces and beans to fresh strawberries and raspberries.

“It gives us great satisfaction to eat fruit and vegetables that grown ourselves.”

The care home’s gardening club for residents meets every Friday afternoon from 2.45pm to 3.15pm. The club has been running for over two years, under the supervi-

we’ve sion of Philip Shaw, founder of Fork-2-Plate, a business aimed at helping people to grow and cook their own food in Cheshire, and a member of the community group, Food4Macc, which aims to have more food pro- duced locally in Macclesfield. National Allotments Week is run by the National Allotment Society (NSALG), an organsation upholding the interests and rights of the allotment community in the UK.