Organic fruit & veg home delivery service

Each and every one of us has an impact on the environment in one way or another, and it's down to each of us to do our bit to minimise the footprint that we leave on the earth. We began growing food organically in 1982 because of our concerns over the impact of chemical faming methods on our health and the environment.

As we developed and started to trade with our local growers' group, we realised that our responsibilities extended beyond the farm gate. In 1992, when we established Growing With Nature, we decided that we would set ourselves some parameters to work to:

1. Minimal packaging of paper or recycled polythene.
2. Minimum food miles (our average is just 2.38 from field to plate, as verified for us by Liverpool University in 1999).
3. For salad and other delicate crops we would harvest one day, deliver the next.

Organic vegetable box schemes began in 1991 as an alternative way of selling direct to the final consumer. At the time the thriving greengrocers and wholesale markets were beginning to feel the pressure being exerted by the supermarkets on their traditional trade.

Nowadays supermarkets handle over 80% of fresh produce sold in the UK and most greengrocers and the wholesale market have succumbed to the supermarkets' destructive methods of marketing. To get into their stores, all fresh produce first travels to a packer who prepares and packages the produce for point of sale. As the supermarkets use a handful of packers but product from all over the globe most of the so-called “fresh” produce on the shelves has travelled hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from field to plate.

As well as growing vegetable and salad crops Alan and Debra are active running the Organic Growers Alliance (www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk) Alan is the present chairman . The alliance aims to represent and support organic growers throughout the UK. Alan also sits on the Farmer and Grower board of the Soil Association. This is an advisory board made up of practicing growers and farmers and aims to keep the charity up to date with issues surrounding Organic farming and growing. Alan has worked with the Soil Association charity for the last 20 years. He has also been involved with committees in MAFF as it was, now DEFRA as well as working as an advisor to other growers, gardeners and community supported agricultural schemes.

Follow Alan on Twitter @GrowingWNature, click here.