Dorchester Town Council has approved a proposal by Green Councillor Poppy Farmer to increase the proportion of plant-based food provided at its receptions and civic events.
Last September, Councillor Farmer submitted a report to the council outlining the benefits to our health and to the environment of eating less meat and more plant-based foods. She had also brought along a selection of plant-based finger food to a Council meeting to help persuade colleagues that it would also be tasty.
Dorchester joins many other councils making similarly forward-thinking moves including Nottingham, Calderdale, Lewisham, Oxford City and Oxfordshire County.
Cllr Farmer commented: “With this new menu, almost all the ingredients that our caterers buy to make food onsite will be local so we can support our local producers and farmers. It will be a great opportunity to showcase plant-based foods. I want to thank the other councillors for working together on this issue.
“We are also a Fairtrade council, so everything is mostly ethically sourced (except for the straggling meat options).”
Last week, Dorchester’s Policy Committee approved the new menu which had been worked up with the council’s preferred caterer – to include in an increased range of plant-based options: vegan quiche, falafel, spring rolls, crisps, vegetable crisps, vegetable sticks (carrot, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes), houmous, whole nuts, and fruit salad.