Living on campus can be a bit of a pain when it comes to buying food. The relatively small number of shops and the high prices mean that more often than not, a trip into town or a browse through online shopping websites are students’ only ways of getting some decent food. But now, students of Lancaster need to look no further for fresh, affordable, local produce. SIFE Lancaster brings you the Lancaster University Farmers’ Market; with more than 15 different food stalls plus the occasional novelty stall; there is almost no need to ever venture into town again. The market happens fortnightly on Thursday in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, outside of the LUSU building. Many of you will have seen signs for the market, but now SCAN lets you get up close and personal with just a few of our friendly market folk.
Mansegh Hall Farm
“All of our animals are treated with respect; they are fed correctly and have 300 acres to run around in. This definitely makes a difference in the quality of meats that we sell. We have experimented with different breeds and have the breeds that produce the tastiest meat. Our beef comes from Highland cattle (the big woolly ones) and our pork comes Tamworth, Saddleback, or Blackrock pigs, which are less fatty than the English Large White pigs you see in supermarkets. The animals are all bred on the farm so the history and the quality of the meat is known.”
“If you are going to eat meat then it should come from an animal that has been treated with respect. Our pigs have large pens that are under cover and our cattle have lots of space for grazing. Anyone visiting the farm can see that all of the animals are happy.”
Port of Lancaster Smokehouse
“Our produce comes from all of the country. Our fish comes fresh from the North Sea, we have black pudding from Bury, and we have wild rabbit from the Duke of Westminster at Abbeystead. Everything is smoked at our smokehouse in Lancaster. We sell game meats when they are in season, meats like pheasant, partridge, mallard, and woodcock. They are good for casseroles and pies.”
“For a cheap student meal, why not try one of our 5 flavours of smoked mackerel, flake it into a bowl, serve with pasta and a white wine sauce. Magic.”
Choco-Lori
“We are at farmers markets four days of the week and the rest of the time we are in the kitchen making our chocolates. Unlike supermarket chocolates our fillings aren’t mass made and we don’t add any oils. We came to the Farmer’s Market because we know that students love chocolate and we want to expand our customer base to the Lancaster area. Student favourites are our fudge sticks or our chocolate gingers, both are made from original recipes.”
The Yummy Cupcake Company
“I founded the company in 2006 with my sister Jen who is a Lancaster alumni. My favourite flavour is either Snickers or Banoffee, even though students tend to go for Barbie Vanilla. Students are very important to our business, we are introducing a free delivery service onto campus for students to enjoy our cakes without having to come into town. The best cupcake to have after a night at The Sugarhouse is probably coffee and walnut!”
The Farmshed
“We have put together a vegetable pack tailored to students that we sell for a very reasonable price. All of our vegetables come from local organic farmers around the Lake District area. The pack we are selling at the moment has come from a farmer in Cartmel.”
