143The Hornbeam is a hub for local food – as well as the café, there’s a Saturday market stall and a midweek box scheme selling organic and local sustainably grown produce. There’s also a community baking project, a fruitpicking project, and regular workshops and events.

These activities are run as a partnership between the Hornbeam and Organiclea Community Growers, a workers’ cooperative which grows and distributes food and plants, and supports other people to grow their own food.

Join the midweek box scheme
Pay around £5 or £10 a week and get your shopping done for you! Choose the size of fruit or vegetable bag that suits your budget and enjoy ultra-local produce every week. There are a range of pick-up options: the Hornbeam, Organiclea’s Hawkwood growing site in Chingford, or other local deliveries. Pop in to the Hornbeam on a Wednesday to see the bags, see Organiclea’s website for more details, or call 07588 422263.

Visit the Saturday Stall 10am-3pm
The market stall outside the Hornbeam on Saturdays sells organic and ultralocal sustainably grown fruit and vegetables plus bread from the Hornbeam community baking project, and home-made jams and preserves.

The produce is supplied by Soil Association certified organic farms and by ultra-local London growers sharing their surplus – from gardens and allotments in Leyton, Walthamstow and Organiclea’s own growing site in Chingford. Ultra-local producers pledge to use Wholesome Food Association principles (an alternative to organic certification for small-scale local growing).

Why Organic?

  • It’s a healthier way of producing food
  • It’s better for the planet
  • It encourages bugs, birds and bees
  • Organic farming works with nature, and the soil’s natural fertility, instead of using oil-based fertilisers and chemicals.