FARMS from Sale and Dunham Massey are part of an organic food revolution after forming a partnership with Manchester University last month.

All fruit and vegetables used in the University’s 26 eateries, including the John Rylands Library, will be supplied by local organic producers such as Glebelands in Sale and Dunham Massey Organics as part of the Manchester Veg People Cooperative, which began on September 20.

The Cooperative has been set up with the support of The Kindling Trust, a not-for-profit social enterprise based in the North West, who focus on sustainable living, production and activism.

The project hopes to reconnect rural and urban communities.

Chris Hewitt, of Dunham Massey Organics, who currently supply the Cooperative with potatoes, vegetables and squash, said: “We hope the Cooperative will help to educate people.

Food is not just a case of a ready meal, there is more to it than that.” He hopes local businesses will start to buy more from local producers.

Adam Rayne from Glebelands said: “We want to revive the tradition of local market gardening so that students, staff and visitors to the University of Manchester’s restaurants can really feel the benefit of consuming local produce once again.”

If successful, the Coop could be extended to supply Food in Residence at the University as well.

Alex Clark, environmental officer for the University’s catering division said: “It’s quite a mammoth task to supply a university as big as Manchester.

It really is an exciting project.”

Mr Clark hopes other large organisations in the region will follow suit.