Fruit Juicing

Following a successful pilot project in 2011 (and a disappointing fruit season in 2012), we successfully set up a community apple juicing service in the autumn of 2013 using generous funding from the Dorset Social Care Innovation Fund to train up people in recovery from mental health problems or learning disabilities to work with us on this enterprise and to purchase another pasteuriser and a larger press. Between September and December 2013, we were able to produce an impressive 2440 75cl bottles of pasteurised apple juice using a fascinating variety of apples! Most of the juice was sold back to the customers who had brought in the apples but a considerable number of bottles have been sold to local retailers and Community shops in central and north Dorset.

For a 2015 update, visit our news page . 2015 was a record year for us with well over 3000 bottles of juice produced.

2016 was less successful but busy nonetheless: we produced over 2000 bottles for nearly 50 different customers who paid us £1.70 per 75cl bottle.

The scheme has involved members of EuCAN CIC working with groups of participants from our partner organisations for one or two days per week at a variety of venues, with two pasteurising machines and a 36 litre  apple press. Our main centre of operation was at Green Valley Farm shop, Godmanstone.

As this project develops we hope to produce jams and cordials from other fruit collected locally – we have already made Blackcurrant cordial, Blackberry syrup and a cordial made of a mixture of autumn fruits. These will also be sold in shops in north Dorset. We hope to continue with the jam and syrup making as phase two, leading to phase three during the summer and autumn of 2014 when the soft fruit and then the apples become available again.

We aim to continue to offer opportunities to people involved with the Dorset Mental Health Forum and other groups in Dorset to work with us to give them training and experience in a small productive (and, we hope, financially viable) business.

We visited Mark Rogers’cider orchard in Melplash in October and helped to collect apples

Support this project:  please contact us if you would like to play a part in this exciting scheme.

Funding

Our application to the Dorset Social Care Innovation Fund for funding for the set-up costs of this project was successful, but further contributions towards our peripheral costs will be extremely welcome! Click here to make a donation.