The Ladies Mile pub in Patcham, Brighton, organised the pumpkin pick on Thursday morning (1 November) where they managed to salvage as many as 2,500 pumpkins from being ploughed into pulp.
Community spirit
Dozens of volunteers sprang into action after a plea from Ladies Mile pub chef Russell Tisbury.
He saw a notice on a community website saying how the farmer at Pumpkin Picking Patch in Sompting, West Sussex, wanted to plough his field and anyone who wanted the remaining pumpkins could have them.
Russell called in volunteers and chefs at other pubs, restaurants, cafes and organisations to rescue the crop so it could be made into soup and pies for the homeless.
“It was all a bit panicky on the morning as there wasn’t much time,” Russell said.
“But we managed to get several vans and loads of volunteers there before the deadline of 2.30pm given by the Pumpkin Patch.
“The whole thing got really big and there must have been more than 2,500 pumpkins, all different shapes and sizes.”
After the mass picking, some 600 ended up piled outside the village pub.
Ladies Mile publican Paul Newman said: “I’ve never seen so many pumpkins in my life – we’ve been overrun with them.”
Samaritans
The idea of using pumpkins left over from Halloween for the homeless came from landlady Gayle Newman, Paul’s wife.
“A week ago, we took our niece to Pumpkin Patch to pick pumpkins for a Halloween display in the pub.
“I thought it was a waste to throw them away afterwards and asked Russell to make soup for the homeless with them.
“Then Russell saw the notice about the pumpkins in the field on a community website saying that the farmer wanted to plough the field and asking if anyone wanted to pick them.
“It’s a brilliant idea and shows that the community can all come together for a good cause.”
By Thursday afternoon, Russell had already made 40 litres of pumpkin soup.
Niall Smith, from events company Medkitchen Events, which organised the Pumpkin Picking Patch event with a farmer, said 12 acres of land was planted with 75,000 pumpkin seeds in May.
He said: “It’s really lovely that the leftover pumpkins will be made into food for the homeless.