Farmborough Community Shop

Supporting our village and local community

The Big Family Apple Day 2024

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Put it in your diary! Our Big Family Apple Day at the Shop and Memorial Hall Garden on Sunday 29 September from 11am-3pm.

Come and turn all your apples and pears into tasty juice with our apple presses. Remember to bring a bucket or suitable container(s) to take everything home! A small charge for pressed juice will be made to cover running costs. See our guidelines for what to bring below…

No apples and pears? No worries! Come with friends and family to celebrate the abundance of local fruit, watch the apple pressing, play our fun family games, find out how to make cider, and visit your local village shop for groceries and treats.

Apple juice, hot and cold drinks, cake, ice cream, and bacon bap/veggie sausages will be available throughout the event and the shop will be open from 10am to browse and buy, including Sunday newspapers.

Big Family Apple Day Guidelines

The Big Family Apple Day is run by volunteers and relies on the goodwill of all involved to run smoothly and efficiently. We also kindly request that participants observe the following guidelines:

  • Depending on visitor numbers, we may need to limit the amount of fruit we can press per person to two flexi buckets (40 litres each)/sacks in the first instance. You can bring more than this, but we may need to ask you to wait to have the rest processed after everyone attending the event has had a chance to juice some of their fruit.
  • Any rotten apples should be discarded as they can’t be juiced – minimal bruising is generally considered acceptable.
  • If your apples are covered in mud, please wash them, otherwise they will be OK as they come.
  • Bring enough bottles! About 50% of the fruit is juice so that should help you plan. Reusing old bottles is fine.
  • Be prepared to help cut up your fruit ready for pulping when you arrive.
  • You will need to take your pulp home – it makes fantastic cakes, chutney or compost.
  • A small charge per litre of juice pressed will be requested to help cover the running costs of the event. You can pay by cash or card in the shop.

Please help us promote this event, download the Big Family Apple Day poster and share our event on Facebook.

Energy initiative exceeds expectations

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In February 2020, the Farmborough Community Shop Management Committee made the decision to launch an initiative to improve the energy efficiency of the shop, raising the funds needed through community pledges and grant applications.

The aims were to replace inefficient electrical equipment alongside the installation of 14 solar photovoltaic (solar PV) panels. The total investment needed was in excess of £6,000, which would save the shop at least £500 per year. To maximise the saving, the solar PV panels needed to be fitted before the end of March to qualify for preferential Feed-in Tariff (FIT) electricity rates.

The full cost of the project was achieved within weeks of the initiative’s launch, including a grant of £2700 from The Naturesave Trust towards the cost of the solar PV installation, which was installed mid-March, one week before lockdown.

A comparison of energy use between 2019 and 2020 for the six months from April to September has shown a reduction of 3311kWh, which equates to a saving of £511 to the shop and a reduction in the amount of CO2 totalling 117kg.

Phil Gray, Treasurer to Farmborough Community Shop said, “The installation of the solar PV panels, funded through a combination of grant funding from The Naturesave Trust and community pledges, has surpassed our expectations. Our original calculations indicated that we would reduce our annual electricity bill by £550, but the operational figures show that the panels have exceeded this in just over six months of use.

“Farmborough Community Shop is currently using 80% of the total energy being produced by the panels, and this is saving us money which can be spent in other areas of our business and increasing community support. A significant reduction in CO2 is also something we are proud to have achieved, making our business more environmentally sustainable.”

The community shop has been an important hub of the village since 2018, but 2020 has seen a greater need for its services, with over 500 home deliveries made to local vulnerable and shielding villagers throughout the Covid crisis.

The Naturesave Trust is funded by the activities of Naturesave Insurance, the UK’s leading ethical insurance provider for individuals, businesses, charities and community groups.

Our project has been featured in the following local press and media:

Midsomer Norton and Radstock Journal
Keynsham Town Community Radio (KTCRfm)

Radstock Nub News