As the leaves turn and orchards fill with fruit, we’re inviting everyone to join our free community apple pressing day – a celebration of local abundance, shared learning, and good old-fashioned fun.
Whether you bring your own apples or use some of ours, you’ll get the chance to press them into fresh, delicious juice using our project funded community apple press. Alongside the pressing, local food enthusiasts will demonstrate a variety of food preservation techniques. It’s hands-on, family-friendly, and completely free.
But beyond the fun and flavour, events like this play an important role in building a stronger, more resilient food system and in helping our community respond to climate change.
🌿 Reducing food waste, one apple at a time.
Every autumn, countless apples go to waste — left unpicked in gardens, falling from trees, or discarded because they’re a little misshapen. By gathering and pressing these apples, we’re keeping good food out of the bin and transforming it into something valuable and nutritious.
Food waste accounts for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. When food rots in landfill, it releases methane – a potent climate-warming gas. By using every apple we can, we’re cutting down on waste and helping to shrink our community’s carbon footprint.
🍯 Reviving traditional preservation skills
Our grandparents knew how to make the harvest last – drying, fermenting, and preserving foods to carry them through the winter. Today, many of these skills have faded, replaced by supermarket convenience and disposable packaging.
By sharing knowledge of food preservation, we empower ourselves to take more control of our food supply, waste less, and eat more seasonally. Pickling, fermenting, and bottling not only extend the life of produce – they also strengthen food security and reduce dependence on industrial, energy-intensive food systems.
🌎 Local food, local Resilience
Events like the Apple Pressing Day bring neighbours together around shared values: community, sustainability, and care for the environment. Supporting local food initiatives helps shorten supply chains, keeps resources in the community, and builds resilience to global challenges like climate change and food price volatility.
When we gather to press apples, share recipes, and swap tips, we’re doing more than making juice – we’re nurturing a sense of connection and collaboration that’s essential for a sustainable future.
🍏 Come be part of it!
🗓 Date: 19 October 2025
📍 Location: Llanyrafon Manor, Cwmbran, NP44 8HT
⏰ Time: 10am – 2pm
Bring your apples – or use apples from the manor’s orchard – and join us and the folks at Llanyrafon Manor for a day of community, learning, and celebration. Together, we can turn surplus fruit into something sweet, share the joy of traditional skills, and take small but meaningful steps toward a more sustainable food system.
Let’s press for change, one apple at a time. 🍎💚
Root for Our Future
This event is part of Root for Our Future, a two-year project exploring food sustainability within Torfaen. Everyone is welcome to attend one of our events. They’re completely free! This project is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
