Local vegetables that can be delivered to your door

Rosie Boycott
22 Oct 2009

The most popular vegetable box schemes in London are all currently, provided by growers whose farms are a long way from the capital, the excellent Riverford Organics (based in the West Country) and Abel & Cole being two familiar names.

But you don't need to look far afield to find more local vegetables that can be delivered to your door.

Food4Kent has now been running for more than a year and its website is a treat.

Doug Wanstall, a Kent farmer, started the business after realising just how centralised the food supply system had become.

"As a producer my products lost all their identity the moment they left the farm gate. I wanted to change that.

"I also know that the current food system depends on cheap oil, which in years to come when the price rises will put great pressure on the system."

Doug teamed up with fellow enthusiasts to start his now thriving business. I was really impressed with their website, www.food4london.co.uk.

Organic veg boxes are often seen as the sole preserve of the well-off.

What's great about Doug and his colleagues is that they are providing good healthy food not just for the middle class but also for schools, hospitals and restaurants.

"The range is building all the time," he tells me, "and as soon as we find new products they go on the site. There is information on the producers, recipes, useful tips - and we send out a regular newsletter. Recently we have introduced dried fruit snacks, produced on the farm where most of the fruit is grown.

"This keeps the supply chain as short as possible and ensures that the margin stays in the producer's pocket rather than being diluted by a number of middle-men."