Open the Box

If you like the idea of buying ethically but don’t have the time to visit a farmers market, why not get the food to come to you?  The first vegetable box scheme was set up in 1992.  There are now over 500 box schemes in the UK delivering fresh fruit and veg, and sometimes meat and dairy products too.


These schemes are usually operated by the growers or small co-operatives of growers.  They are designed to add value and support the local food economy by giving the farmer a greater share of the money spent on food. Many schemes are run on a local or regional basis, delivering food direct from the producer to the consumer. Other schemes operate nationwide by linking a network of growers under a single marketing banner

Produce is sourced locally, greatly reducing the need for packaging, storage and transportation and most is farmed organically – without the use of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides.

Typically the contents are not selected by the customer, but are chosen by the box scheme provider on the basis of seasonality and availability.  In the past this led to criticism that producers used the schemes to dump poor quality or hard to sell produce, but with increased competition the quality these days is generally excellent.

Patrick and Caroline Cooper of Greenwich are typical box scheme customers.  I asked them about their experience.

Which scheme do you belong to?

CC: We get a Fruit&Veg Box every week from RiverfordOrganic Veg.  That contains seven different vegetables, not including potatoes, and three fruits depending on the season.   It costs £16.35 per week and delivery is free.

Does that cover all your fruit and veg needs?

CC: No. I think that box size is supposed to feed 3 people and we are a family of six.  It probably provides about 60% of what we eat and I top up from the Co-op.

PC: Our kids just love cucumbers!  We get through several cucumbers a week and no scheme could cater for that.

 How important is it to you that’s it’s organic?

CC: If I could I would buy only organic food.  For me it’s just common sense.  You want the food you eat to be natural and not have any nagging doubts about what it might be doing to your body.

What’s the best thing about the scheme?

PC:  You get to discover all kinds of vegetables that you wouldn’t normally buy.  I think everyone gets into a routine about shopping; they just buy the same things every week.  But we’ve had vegetables like Jerusalem artichokes, kohlrabi, black salsify.  I had to Google these things before I could cook them!  I love that it expands your horizons.

CC:  It’s great that there’s an alternative to shopping in supermarkets.  There are hardly any green grocers left in Greenwich but box schemes allow us to buy ethically produced, local produce without thousands of food miles.  Also I love the fact that the box comes midweek.  If stocks are running low from the wekend food-shop I know I can always knock up a meal based on fresh veg.

What are the drawbacks?

PC: You really notice the ‘hungry gap’.  There are long weeks through the winter when the box seems to be full of nothing but root vegetables .

But then there’s the sheer joy in the spring when you start getting new season vegetables.  You can really understand why medieval people had all those food festivals to celebrate the arrival of certain produce. 

The Soil Association provides a list of certified organicbox scheme providers broken down by region.