Two women at home with children, a certified kitchen and large organic gardens have melded into a new Wanganui business.
Belinda Marker and Mandy Brooke both live at the Quaker Settlement in Virginia Rd. Ms Marker has a catering business, Flair Catering, and Ms Brooke is an osteopath. Both thewomen and the settlement have a focus on sustainability and permaculture.
With the help of friends they now have a brightly-painted, gypsy-style cart from which to sell food, produce and plants. Money will be collected in an honesty box.
The food will be cooked in the settlement's certified kitchen and sold every Wednesday, from 8am to 6pm. They chose Wednesdays to sell their bread so as not to compete with bread-makers selling at the Saturday River Traders' market downtown.
On their first Wednesday of operation earlier this month they sold out of sourdough and gluten-free breads and muffins, Ms Marker said.
Their cart, called A La Carte, will also be out from 8am to 6pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, selling seasonal produce and herbs from the settlement's gardens.
They aim to use local and organic raw materials and want to extend their product range. "We will probably do some raw food products and pre-packaged mixes as well," Ms Marker said.
