All aboard the veg van

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On an overcast morning last week, I was riding through Hackbridge in London's first Veg Van. The old Dairycrest milk float first went on the road in 1978 but it's been years since it served as a milk-deliverer. Anna Francis, who works for BioRegional,the social enterprise charity dedicated to finding realistic ways for people to live low-carbon lifestyles (they were behind BedZED, the famous eco-apartments built in 2002, also in Hackbridge), persuaded the Big Lottery and Esme Fairbain Trust to buy the van and refit it so that the sides fold up to reveal a shop.

At the start of the year, Anna began encouraging local suppliers to sell their veg on the van and began work restoring a derelict farm in neighbouring Sutton. After the war, Sutton built houses with smallholdings attached for out-of-work servicemen but they have fallen into
disrepair. Surrey council then turned over seven and a half acres to the community farm.

Even though only a small part of the space is under cultivation, aided by 20 committed and 200 irregular volunteers, vegetables are growing: beans, peas, carrots and heritage varieties of wheat which Anna is planning on turning into bread in the autumn. The salad beds provide regular salad bags which always sell out. Inside a polytunnel, there's a large crop of ripening tomatoes and an impressive row of runner beans. Already, the farm supports 19-year-old Sam, who is on his first job. Times are set aside for the local special needs centre, as well as for young offenders and those on probation.

The van goes out on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, setting up outside Hackbridge station in the evening and St Helier hospital at lunch, and a local school. Inside the shop, there are pears , apples, rhubarb, Surrey honey and vegetables from the farm. Regular customer Sam Smith explains: "I love the Veg Van: it's so convenient being able to pick things up on the way home and means I don't have to drive to the supermarket when I get back". It's a brilliant idea, which I'd love to see
replicated across other boroughs.

For further information, see vegvan.org.uk, suttoncommunityfarm.org.uk