Broad beans, marrow, calabrese, kalaloo, squash, runner beans, potatoes, onions, spinach, tomatoes, coriander, aubergine, dugi (amaranth), beetroot…the vegetables grown by women involved in WEN's Taste of a Better Future project are almost as numerous as the women themselves. Participants came together for a celebratory feast in September, bringing examples of their wholesome produce.

With the gentle facilitation of cuisinere Miche Fabre Lewin, they pooled their ingredients, chopped, mixed, spiced and cooked to create a delicious spread, melding Asian, European and African flavours and styles.

Taste of a Better Future provided support and information to encourage women from ethnic minority groups to cultivate organic food in their neighbourhoods. It involved over 33 groups across the country, and enabled women to learn or retain traditional growing skills as well as make new friends and strengthen community bonds, bring life and greenness to their cities and provide affordable, healthy food. Although Taste of a Better Future funding has ended, the project is not over, said project worker, Caroline Fernandez. "We're moving on to 'Cultivating the Future', building on the network we've already created and developing new skills in composting and holding more fun networking events like this."

Cuisinere Miche Fabre Lewin, who draws on the healing and nutritional traditions of Chinese, French and Zen cuisine, was delighted with the result. "For me it's been a complete pleasure to be able to learn from women of different cultures, cooking with the different vegetables we have brought." She said the day proved that "food is a universal language."

Bethnal Green MP, Oona King, launched the project's Marigold Information Pack last year, and came back to see the results of everyone's hard work. "It's nice to see women having an effect and impact, both in terms of the local community and family life," she said. "We've all got a responsibility to see if we can try to live in a sustainable manner. WEN has been very instrumental in saying 'well, what does that mean practically? What is healthy and cheap?" Organic food was expensive to buy but ToBF helped make it affordable.

Hawarum Hussain brought coriander from the Gardening for Health project in Bradford, which started growing on one allotment in 1997 and now has five plots. She provided invaluable advice before ToBF started.

Anwara Khanom from Jagonari Women's Centre, Tower Hamlets, said the best things about joining a growing group were: "growing food and everybody sharing. We are very happy and enjoy seeing the food grow." This year's crop included tomatoes, marrows, beans and dugi, while she enjoys eating Italian and Chinese cuisine and trying new dishes.

Shafia Ahmed brought potatoes from the Old Trafford Community Allotment and created spicy potato scallops to add to the table.

Hushnara Ahmed, a worker at Jagonari Women's Centre, experimented to create a mixed vegetable dish. She said "The Taste of a Better Future project is good. The women have fun, meeting different people and finding that things like this do happen."

For further information please contact: Liz Sutton, Press Officer or Caroline Fernandez, Local Food Officer
T: 020 7481 9004, F: 020 7481 9144 or email: info@wen.org.uk

Notes to editors:
1. WEN is a national membership organisation which campaigns on environmental and health issues from a women's perspective. Founded in 1988, it aims to educate, inform and empower women and men who care about the environment.