Assistant Managing Director, Tom Richardson shares the results we have seen through a year of offering subsidized organic veg to local people, in light of a new report which shows just how inaccessible fresh produce is to so many people.
A new report from the Food Foundation found that on average, healthier foods are more than twice as expensive per calorie as less healthy foods.
This puts fresh produce out of reach for many people in our country and means that 1 in 5 families would need to spend more than 70% of their income on food to be able to afford a healthy diet (as defined by the government)!
As the 6th biggest economy in the world, surely we have to recognise that this is not good enough and that access to good, nutritious food should be a fundamental right for everyone.
We desperately want everyone to be able to enjoy the produce we grow and sell, but even as a not-for-profit organisation, our prices remain out of reach for so many, simply because we pay farmers a fair price, pay all staff the Living Wage as determined by Living Wage Foundation, and treat our land with care and respect.
This report only looks at healthy vs. less healthy foods and doesn’t account for the imbalance between non-organic and organic produce either. With benefits for human health and the environment, and often a higher price tag, organic food is even less accessible to people across the country.
We really hope the shelved National Food Strategy that is being dusted off by the current government, and the promises of a new national Land Use Framework, are able to make a real step change in supporting local and organic food systems; and helps make good food more accessible to everyone.
Five health & environmental benefits of organic produce:
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Organic farms have on average 30% more biodiversity. |
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Soils in organic farms are healthier, containing more life, and storing more carbon. |
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If Europe’s farmland all followed organic principles, agricultural emissions could drop by 50% by 2050, |
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Organic crops have much higher nutritional quality than their non-organic counterparts. |
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Organic produce is grown without toxic, synthetic chemicals, some of which are labelled as ‘probably’ or ‘possibly’ causing cancer |
This report by the Food Foundation has come at a time when we reflect on a year of our ‘Go Organic’ scheme which looks to address this issue by offering a 50% discount to households who wouldn’t normally be able to access organic, fresh produce.
In 2024 this scheme benefited more than 70 households who collectively saved more than £13,000 on their food bills!
Not only were we pleased to see that the majority of beneficiaries felt like they were taking positive action for their health and the environment but a survey of the beneficiaries found that more than half of them were eating more fruit & veg than before they joined the scheme.
All of the respondents who had not tried a veg box before stated that they were cooking more from scratch too. The power of the veg box!
Here are a few quotes demonstrating the impact that the scheme has had:
I've loved having this veg box delivery and the element of surprise every time it's on the doorstep! You give me things I'd never have bought myself from the supermarket and I've loved making soups and cooking up new meals with the produce.
I wanted to say thank you for the Go Organic scheme - I'm eating so much better and really look forward to my box each week.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for my box of vegetables! It's fantastic and I'm so grateful for the 50% off, as I have chronic fatigue syndrome and currently can't work, so having affordable organic food is amazing and exactly what I need as I work on my recovery!
A huge thank you to all of the customers who have contributed to this scheme by giving a donation to The Community Fund, as well as to the government’s Household Support Fund which has also contributed.
Read the Food Foundation’s Broken Plate Report.
Find out more about the Go Organic subsidy scheme.
