You want to eat sustainably. I want to eat sustainably. We all want to eat sustainably.
But while we can do the obvious, (more plants, less livestock; no strawberries from South Africa) if you live in a city, your life is likely to be more 7pm dashes to Tesco Metro, less rummaging at the farmer’s market for charmingly misshapen parsnips.
You’ve also probably got half a metre of concrete masquerading as your garden, (as convincingly as strips of butternut squash telling you that they’re ‘spaghetti’) making growing anything that isn’t mint pretty hard.
Which is why clever ways of delivering food that’s been grown well, is seasonal, says ‘no’ to wastage and pays people who grow it the prices they deserve are flourishing.
For you stressed-out urban types, here’s a few of our favourites.
Launched in 2012, this ethical grocer is bringing the farm shop to you.
“We created Farmdrop to fix what we believe is a broken food chain, perpetuated by the big supermarkets who source from great distances, waste unsold food, and screw over their suppliers by paying them unfairly,” explains Ben Pugh CEO. “I don’t think there has ever been a time in history when we have been so disconnected from the people who feed us.”
With Farmdrop, you place an order online or via their app, your food is picked to order and comes to your door within 19 hours, via an electric van. Deliveries go to homes in London, Bath and Bristol.
“The reason we should be so concerned about losing touch with agriculture is because it encourages the major food manufacturers to cut corners and lower welfare standards,” Ben says. Working on a no-waste policy (produce is only harvested when it’s been ordered), his business pays farmers fairly and brings local food to busy urban types.
“In doing this we are meeting the growing demand for high-welfare and locally sourced food by putting the farmers’ market online, and available seven days a week,” Ben says.
A community-led organisation based in Hackney, North London, these lot aim to change what we eat, how we eat – and how it’s farmed.
Founded over twenty years ago, the goal was to build a community to reshape our food systems. With their organic fruit and vegetable bag scheme, (you can get one from £7.75 a week) fairly priced local and seasonal ingredients are yours.
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Available at various pick-up points in London, or selling at a farmers’ market every Saturday, 10am-2.30pm, by St Paul’s Church, N16 7UY, these lot are a great choice if you live in the capital.
Alison, a digital marketer and Growing Communities devotee says: “I discovered Growing Communities as they supply Esters, my favourite cafe. They’ve made it so much easier to source local farm supplies, without losing valuable time at the weekends.”
Over in Paris, Au Bout Du Champ is changing the way locals shop for their daily fruit and veg. Until recently, they sold locally-grown produce out of vending machines, making picking up the fresh stuff easier than ever. Now, they’re selling out of five permanent spaces.
All produce comes from within 100km of Paris and is harvested from the organic farmers who grew it – who get 50 per cent of the sale price right back.
By reconnecting their customers with the farmers, (from Como & Xavier Morize from Saint-Nom-La-Breteche who provide carrots, cucumbers, onions and more, to Angel MoioliI from Montesson, who specialises in mushrooms) they are getting city types seeing food as a labour of love, rather than something you hastily grab in a plastic wrapper.
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“If we don’t support local farmers we will have less affordable healthy options in the future,” explains Isabel Martin, a Paris-based designer and frequent shopper at the store.
“It’s much easier to find great local produce outside Paris, as that’s where the farms are. Having someone bring the produce in to the city and to make them readily available and affordable is magnificent.”
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