Supporting Local Farms: Pembroke Kitchens Partner with OxFarmToFork

Every Tuesday and Friday morning, a delivery of freshly harvested vegetables and other produce arrives at Pembroke’s kitchens - from mushrooms grown at Blenheim Palace to colourful squashes from South Oxfordshire, and eggs laid just a few miles away in Kidlington. Within hours of its arrival by cargo bike, seasonal produce is on the menu and served to students and staff in Hall.

Since September 2025, the College has been working with OxFarmToFork, a not-for-profit initiative connecting local producers with Oxford kitchens. Unlike conventional supply chains, OxFarmToFork produce is harvested at organic farms across Oxfordshire shortly before delivery, when travels only a short distance to the College kitchen. 

Executive Head Chef, Chris Allnutt, explains: “We love knowing that as well as enjoying fresh, delicious and healthy food, we are also supporting local farmers and the local economy. We've had some really interesting varieties of mushroom, squash and greens through OxFarmToFork, and the chefs have had fun getting creative with our menus."

Watch Executive Head Chef Chris Allnutt talk us through the week's delivery from OxFarmToFork

Produce on offer varies with the seasons, meaning our menus increasingly reflect what local farmers are growing throughout the year. Among Chris’ favourites are the many varieties of mushroom we regularly receive from Tumblebug, who are based within the Blenheim Palace Estate and use organic waste and novel technology to grow their produce. The mushrooms are grown using recycled coffee grounds from the Palace, then, once harvested, the spent substrate from the mushroom growing is converted to biochar compost which is used in the palace’s walled garden to grow more produce.

"The mushrooms are picked the day before they're sent to us," Chris explains. "The beauty about the way they come in to us is that they're fresh, they're packaged in cardboard so they don't sweat, and they last a lot longer than they typically would, so we get a better yield out of them."

Lions Mane and mixed oyster mushrooms from Tumlbebug at Blenheim Palace
and kalettes from Tolhurst Organic

This week, Lion’s Mane, golden and pink oyster mushrooms from Tumblebug feature on the Hall lunch menu in a frittata made from eggs from nearby Willowbrook Farm and served alongside another of Chris’ favourites from Tolhurst Organic in South Oxfordshire, ‘kalettes’, an unusual cross between Brussel sprouts and kale.

In recent weeks we’ve also enjoyed root veg and greens from Blacklands Organics, striking squash and pumpkins from Sandy Lane Farm, leafy greens from Worthy Earth, and more.

Squash from Tolhurst Organic

But the benefits of our membership reach beyond our menus. All of OxFarmToFork’s producers are based within around 50 miles of Oxford City, and in 2024 alone the organisation saved 686 tonnes of carbon in food miles - roughly equivalent to the amount of CO2​ absorbed by planting 686 trees over their lifetime, or taking over 150 cars off the road for a year.

OxFarmToFork is committed supporting local livelihoods, fair supply chains, and sustainable farming, and all money spent is reinvested in the local economy. Pembroke’s joining fee, for example, contributed to the purchase of a vegetable washer for a local organic farm, which has in turn enabled them to supply to more colleges and restaurants.

We are delighted to have been able to partner with OxFarmToFork and to contribute to a more resilient, fair and sustainable local food network. We very much hope to enjoy even more local Oxfordshire produce in years to come. More about Pembroke's sustainability initiatives can be found here.

You can find out more about OxFarmToFork and their suppliers below and at gfo.org.uk/ox-farm-to-fork/