Food & Drink
A greener wedding starts with the menu
River Cottage’s Jessica Church reveals tips for sustainable food choices on your special day.
23 June 2025
This article first appeared in our Organic September 2025 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
At River Cottage, we believe good food should feed the planet, not drain it. That’s why this Organic September, we’re inviting you to think more deeply about what’s on your plate and how it got there.
We all love a splash of tropical fruit or a salad that sings of summer, but in today’s food system, strawberries in December and year-round avocados are the norm.
Behind that ‘perfect’ out-of-season mango lies a story of food miles, fossil fuels and a heavy carbon footprint.
Organic September isn’t just a celebration of food grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, it’s a reminder that how we eat affects everything – from the health of the soil to the health of the planet.
One of the most powerful things we can all do is eat seasonally – and know where our food comes from.
Food miles, the distance your food travels from farm to fork, have a huge environmental impact. The further your food travels, the more fossil fuels are burned in transport and refrigeration – especially when it’s flown in from the other side of the world.
When you reach for that out-of-season mango in September, you’re often paying more than just the price on the label.
The true cost is reflected in increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, habitat destruction and weakened food security.
At River Cottage, we harvest our produce at its peak and serve it within hours – whether it’s in our café, seasonal feasts or on our cookery courses.
Seasonal food is typically grown closer to home, reducing the need for long-haul transport and cold storage.
Food that’s in season is also more abundant and therefore often cheaper; that £3 mango in September costs more because it has been flown across the globe.
Organic fruit and veg grown in tune with the seasons is often picked when perfectly ripe, which means better taste and more nutrients.
Supermarkets tend to offer the same varieties all year round, but eat with the seasons and you’ll discover heritage crops, forgotten veg and new ingredients to keep your cooking fresh and your gut microbiome thriving.
Some people say organic food is too expensive – especially in the current climate.
While it might seem that way, the truth is that organic is not just about cost, it’s about value.
Organic growing protects wildlife, improves soil health and supports more resilient food systems. It’s labour-intensive, but that care is passed on through every ingredient.
When you know where your food comes from and how it was grown, you’re not just buying dinner, you’re buying into a better future.
Cheap food often hides bigger problems: poor pay for farmers, loss of biodiversity, unhealthy soils and mass-produced ingredients that disconnect us from nature.
The more we support organic, seasonal and locally grown food, the more we shift power back into the hands of people and planet.
Our farm and kitchens at River Cottage are run on organic principles. Everything we grow is seasonal, and we never compromise on provenance or purpose.
Whether you’re joining us for a cooking course, a feast or a garden workshop, the message is the same: real food matters.
This Organic September you don’t have to grow your own or go fully organic overnight; small shifts make a difference.
Buy local and organic produce where you can. Farmers’ markets and veg box schemes are great places to start.
Sticking a seasonal calendar on your fridge will help you to get inspired by what’s fresh each month.
It’s also important to ask questions – to your greengrocer or supermarket – to discover how and where your food was grown.
Even making one seasonal swap will make an impact. Replace those flown-in grapes with British plums. Pick local squash over imported sweet potatoes. Every choice counts.
Organic September is not about perfection, it’s about intention. The more we choose seasonal, organic and local food, the more we nourish the ecosystems on which we all depend.
It’s a journey of reconnection: with nature, with the people who grow our food and with the food itself.
This September, let’s all ask one small question a little more often: what’s on my plate? And where did it come from?
River Cottage’s Jessica Church reveals tips for sustainable food choices on your special day.
River Cottage’s Julia Johnson explains why organic food and farming should be at the heart of any sustainable food system.
River Cottage’s Rachel de Thample shares natural ways to improve gut health and boost your wellbeing.
River Cottage chef Gelf Alderson shares a seasonal recipe to celebrate seasonal, local, organic and wild food.
