London's Veg Van brings local produce to fresh food desert
18.03.2010
Commuters can buy locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables outside Hackbridge train station on the way home from work in a new scheme from local environmental charity, BioRegional.
The Veg Van, a not-for-profit, renovated milk float, launched yesterday, bringing seasonal, locally grown fruit and vegetables to this area of the London Borough of Sutton where fresh produce is hard to come by.
Nicknamed Veggie, the veg-mobile is aiming to cater for thousands of people in Hackbridge, making it convenient and affordable for them to eat healthily while cutting their need to drive to shops and boosting sustainable business in the local area.
Anna Francis, One Planet Food Manger at BioRegional said:
“We’re really excited to be starting this essential service in Hackbridge; a recent survey showed that, 94 per cent of local residents said they were concerned about eating healthily but most have to drive to get to fruit and veg and only 40 per cent of local adults say they are getting their ‘five a day’.”
“We’re linking up with local growers such as the community farm to bring super fresh, seasonal food to the area. We hope that the van will become part of people’s weekly shop and that others will be inspired to set up similar projects around the UK.”
The Veg Van will be open every Wednesday, conveniently placed at Hackbridge rail station for residents to pop by straight after work or school. It will also be travelling to local schools to sell its wares and may even stock food grown by the pupils.
The Veg Van is part of a three year borough-wide One Planet Food project being delivered by local environment charities BioRegional and EcoLocal. Its aim is to improve access to fresh local food for residents, support local food producers and reduce the pollution from food miles. It is being funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food Programme, Sutton Council, NHS Sutton and Merton, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and through in-kind support from Southern Railway.
Here’s what our partners say:
Cllr Colin Hall, Executive Member for Environment on Sutton Council, said: “The Veg Van will make a huge difference to Hackbridge residents by enabling them to buy fresh fruit and vegetables on their journey home from work, rather than driving to a supermarket.”
“This is another step towards our aim to make Hackbridge the UK’s first sustainable suburb. The area is currently a fresh food desert and by selling locally sourced produce at the station we will cut down on food miles and help to reduce carbon emissions as well as boosting the local economy and enabling residents to purchase fresh, healthy food.”
Mark Wheddon, Local Food Programme Manager said: “We are extremely proud to support such an exciting project. The Veg Van is part of the ‘One Planet Food’ project, which is one of just a handful of Beacon projects we have funded. It is exactly these kinds of projects that will help to make local food more accessible and affordable for local communities.”
Joint Medical Director of NHS Sutton and Merton, Dr Howard Freeman said: “People in Hackbridge told us that being healthy was important to them but the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables available locally makes eating “five a day” difficult. The Veg Van is a great opportunity for people in Hackbridge to get affordable, local fresh food to help them achieve healthier lifestyles.”
Tansy Wenham Prosser of EcoLocal said: “The Veg Van is a great way for people to be able to support local UK farmers, and buy fresh food for their family. We hope that some of The Veg Van customers might also be interested in our local cooking courses or food growing workshops.”
Southern station manager Paul Wyborn said:
“We are very pleased to be supporting The Veg Van in Hackbridge. We have done this through our new station partnership scheme which invites community groups or businesses to become involved at their station for the mutual benefit of the local neighbourhood and the station.”