Who We Are
VEGBOX is a community-led organic vegetable box scheme empowering our community
to connect with great-tasting organic veg and fruit sourced from small-scale farms near London.
We are proud to be a cooperative, committed to making our food system more sustainable,
offering affordable prices and paying our farmers and staff fairly.
Vegbox was founded in 2012 by members of Transition Kentish Town, with support from Growing Communities in Hackney.
VEGBOX currently connects nearly 400 members in the Kentish Town, Camden Town, Tufnell Park, Dartmouth Park, Gospel Oak, Belsize Park, Holloway, King’s Cross and Clerkenwell areas with growers and producers from farms as near to London as possible. Bags are delivered once a week to a range of 15 collection points, bringing organic produce at affordable prices to our local community.
Healthy and low-carbon lifestyle
A weekly veg bag is a great way to get more home-cooked meals and organic fruit and vegetables in our diets. Instead of cooking the same old thing every week, enjoy the variety and connection to nature you get from eating seasonally. Collecting your weekly bag from community pick-up points is also a sociable way of cutting down on pollution and air-miles.
Part of the community
The scheme is run by and for our local community. We invest our profits in local food projects. We hold friendly and fun socials in the neighbourhood, and events like farm visits to spread the knowledge on healthy and sustainable options.
Sustainable food system
We source organic, as locally as possible, and work within the limits of what is seasonally available in England. We also minimise waste by only ordering what we need each week – any leftover produce is donated to local partners such as the Thanet Youth Club. In this way, we help build an alternative economy in which we support sustainable farms and consume our food more mindfully.
Fair trade
We’re harnessing the collective buying power of our community and providing a regular outlet and fair price for small-scale organic farmers. We also provide employment to the local community, paying in excess of the London Living Wage.
Not-for-profit consumer co-operative
Our customers are our members. Members attend the AGM and have a say in how the box scheme is run, and what we do with any surplus we make in the future.
Accessible
We believe everyone should have access to fresh, organic produce. We work hard to make our weekly organic vegetable bags as affordable as possible. We accept Healthy Start vouchers, and offer a low-income discount of 20%.
How does this differ from national veg box schemes, farmers’ markets or
wholefood shops?
By buying directly from the producers as a group, we source an ethical and affordable organic vegetable bag.
We want to invest our profits in local food projects.
We’re focused on supporting small-scale, sustainable farmers in the London hinterland.
The scheme is run by and for our local community in and around Kentish Town.
What Our Members Say
Our Producers
Capel Mushrooms, Suffolk
Possibly the first organic mushroom farm in the UK, Capel Mushrooms grow closed cap white mushrooms, brown cap, portobello and portabellini mushrooms on organic compost at their Suffolk site. The family run business has been organic since 1988 and the team are particularly proud of their compost making facility, as most mushroom farms rely on bought in compost.
Mole End Farm, Kent
Mole End Farms was the brainchild of Paul Ward and Sara Rowan who, in 1994, decided that the time was right for a complete career change. Passionate believers in organics, they bought Mole End Farm in Chart Sutton. The team now grow fruit to Soil Association standards across four biodiverse orchards in Kent.
Oakwood Farm, Sussex
Oakwood Farm is one of our trusted organic apple suppliers. Owned by Matthew and Carol Wilson, it’s one of only a few small licensed organic orchards in the Sussex High Weald. The farm achieved full organic status in September 1999 and has been producing a huge variety of flavourful apples ever since.
Newfields Organics, Yorkshire
Championing organic agriculture since the 1980s, Newfields Organics grows delicious, seasonal, certified organic veg on the North Yorkshire moors. Situated around 650 ft above sea level, Newfields Organics is probably one of the highest organic farms in the country! To this day, the land where the potatoes, carrots, beets, cabbages and other brassicas are grown is mostly hand weeded and picked to order, thus ensuring maximum freshness.
Bagthorpe Farm, Norfolk
Nestled in the beautiful countryside of rural North Norfolk is Bagthorpe Farm, a family-run 300 hectare mixed organic farm, growing a superb range of organic vegetables and cereals alongside beef cattle. Bagthorpe strives to produce “healthy, nutritious food in an environmentally sustainable way”. Bagthorpe Farm supply us with carrots, beets, potatoes and onions, with varieties selected based on quality and flavour.
Bore Place, Kent
Set in 60 acres of picturesque woodland and fields, Bore Place isn’t just home to Soil Association certified vegetable gardens, it’s also the site of a beautiful historic house, lush organic gardens and a range of accommodation. As well as being havens for wildlife, the gardens here are used as part of The Grow to Grow programme, which provides placements for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. This site is low carbon too, generating almost 50% of their energy through solar and wind alongside systems to responsibly manage water and waste.
Wild Country Organics, Cambridgeshire
Wild Country Organics is a forward-thinking organic market garden growing outstanding ingredients for modern recipes. Their award winning organic produce is grown with dedication and a deep understanding of what the plant needs to naturally grow to its best. Dr. Adrian Izzard took on his family’s Cambridgeshire plot back in the 1990s and set up the organic farm. As well as growing a variety of organic salad leaves and tomatoes in lovingly restored greenhouses, Izzard and his team grow field crops, root veg and soft fruit.
Sprig Farm, Camden
Situated in central Camden, Sprig Farm grow a variety of microgreens. Growing indoors enables them to provide fresh produce year-round. They grow without chemicals and only what is needed, reducing food waste, greenhouse gasses and impact on the countryside.
Langridge Organic, UK
Langridge is a Soil Association certified organic wholesaler selling fresh, organic UK-grown and imported fruit and veg. Langridge now operates out of a solar powered base in west London. It also has its own farms, including Langridge Farm situated amid the gorgeous rolling hills of mid Devon, which is run by David Govier.
Sarah Green Organics, Essex
Sarah Green’s Organics is situated in Tillingham on the east Essex coast, 50 miles east of London. Sarah Green is the third generation of her family farming in Tillingham, where they grow a wide selection of seasonal organic vegetables throughout the year.
Martin Ripple Farm, Kent
Ripple Farm is a small Soil Association certified horticultural farm situated in the Stour Valley, between Ashford and Canterbury. Their light, chalky soils produce vegetables of great taste and quality. Martin and Sarah at Ripple Farm also rent an amazing Victorian walled garden near Wye where they prepare their seedlings and grow salad leaves and herbs.
Chegworth Valley, Kent
Chegworth Valley is a family owned and run fruit farm situated in the heart of the Kent countryside. Over 300 acres are farmed by the family, consisting of apples, pears and soft fruit along with a wide selection of seasonally available vegetables and salads.
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Annual Reports
As a member-led co-operative, we are accountable to our members, who hold membership in Vegbox by virtue of receiving weekly veg from us. You can read our Annual Reports in this section:
2019 Annual Report (reported in 2020)
2018 Annual Report (reported in 2019)
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Contacting us
We work part time on Vegbox, so we may not pick up the phone when you ring. But leave us a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!