Farm provides Towy Valley school with fresh vegetables

The project sees organically grown produce from Bremenda Isaf farm feeding students at Ysgol Bro Dinefwr.

The vegetables, all harvested and processed on the farm, are used in themed lunches at the school.

This initiative is a collaboration between the school, Carmarthenshire County Council’s catering department, and the Food Systems Development Project.

The Food Systems Development Project, run by Bwyd Sir Gâr Food, explores how to produce, sell, promote, and consume sustainable food across Carmarthenshire.

Bremenda Isaf, a 100-acre council farm, is trialling new ways of supplying vegetables to the county’s primary schools and care homes.

The farm uses climate and nature-friendly farming practices to grow a variety of vegetables, including cucumbers, carrots, brussels sprouts, and pumpkins.

The first delivery to Ysgol Bro Dinefwr included more than 40kg of produce.

Chris Pugh, senior catering manager at Carmarthenshire County Council, said: "We are delighted to be able to see the first crops from Bremenda Isaf County Farm making their way onto the plates of students at Bro Dinefwr.

"Utilising locally grown, high quality, fresh produce on our menu is the first exciting step in the wider food systems development project for the catering department.

"Our chefs are looking forward to showing how local produce can be championed as part of a range of exciting dishes, showing off flavours from around the world."

The farm is also exploring a return to a mixed way of farming, producing a variety of food essential for public health.

This approach takes into consideration the farm’s heritage and the area’s food culture.

The Food Systems Development project also works with the dietetic team at Hywel Dda University Health Board to develop people’s cooking and nutrition skills.

Councillor Carys Jones, cabinet member for rural affairs, community cohesion and planning policy, said: "It's great to see this project delivering on its targets with fresh, local and highly nutritious food being efficiently produced here in Carmarthenshire for our school children.

"Food Systems work covers a lot of our strategic objectives as a council, everything from the rural economy and environment to community health and tackling poverty."

The initiative is part of the wider, national Welsh Veg in Schools project, aiming to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across Wales.