CHARITY CHEESE HITS LINCOLNSHIRE CO-OP SHELVES

How often do you get to eat cheese and call it an act of charity? Now that Lincolnshire Co-op is stocking Skegness supplier Lymn Bank Farm’s Just Jane cheese, you can!

A percentage of profits raised by sales of the mature cheddar are donated by Lymn Bank Farm to the Just Jane to Fly Again fund, which aims to return a historic Avro Lancaster bomber to the Lincolnshire skies.

The NX611 has a colourful history dating back to 1945 and a project to restore the plane to an airworthy condition has been ongoing since 1992. Farmers Fred and Harold Panton bought the bomber and opened the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre in East Kirkby as a memorial to their older brother, a pilot who was shot down in WWII.

Nicknamed Just Jane for the colourful wartime cartoon painted on its side, the aircraft needs millions of pounds of work before it can lift off once more.

Company director at Lymn Bank Farm and daughter of the founders, Helen and Steve, Gemma Grinstead, says that the family’s interest in the project is down to her brother.

“It’s a cause very close to my brother’s heart,” she said. “When we were in the Young Farmers we visited the centre and when he saw the Avro Lancaster, Matt just fell in love with it.”

In the period between September 2012 and September 2013, Lymn Bank Farm raised over £1,500 for the Just Jane restoration fund. Gemma says they’ll be handing over another cheque this September, which they hope will be even bigger.

The farm makes more than 20 varieties of cheese and chutney, all of them made with love and craftsmanship. As well as using milk from a nearby farm, the Grinsteads also try to source their other ingredients as locally as possible.

“Just Jane is a mature cheddar, it’s quite creamy and really strong,” Gemma said, “I love eating it at home on toast with Worcestershire sauce.”

Just Jane is available in Lincolnshire Co-op food stores now, where you can buy a 200g truckle from the chilled cabinets or have a piece cut to order at one of the Society’s deli counters.

The cheese is part of Lincolnshire Co-op’s Love Local range which comprises a range of products including bread, meat, beer, crisps, cheese and conserves made by local producers.

Also new to Lincolnshire Co-op this summer is a selection of products from Grasmere Farm near Market Deeping. Its Scotch Eggs are available in all food stores now and will be joined soon by Pork Crackles, whilst Haslet is available at all 13 deli counters.

Lincolnshire Co-op food stores are also stocking two additional ales brewed locally in Wainfleet by Batemans Brewery – flavoured offerings Orange Barley and Mocha Amaretto.

Complementing the classic Batemans beer range, these Bohemian Brews are produced in smaller batches using the same imagination, energy and passion afforded to all Batemans tipples.