The future of food shopping

Do you want a convenient, cost-effective way to deliver your family food fresh from the farm?

Imagine feeding your family fresh, ethically produced food every day. While living in London, working full time or running around after kids, that can feel like an unrealistic option for many busy parents. Wandering leisurely through farmers’ markets to discover an exciting new Cheddar, or sourcing organic, free-range pork for the family roast from a small-scale, mixed farm might be the pinnacle of our shopping aspirations, but the reality is very different.

Enter Farmdrop – the online ethical grocer quietly revolutionising how we can do our weekly shop. Five years ago, founder Ben Pugh started bringing fruit and vegetables to pick up points in London out of frustration with what was available in the supermarkets and because he was struggling to feed his young children the kind of food he wanted. “I started Farmdrop because the food chain is broken. Over the last 50 years, the major supermarkets have created a culture of cheap and processed food that is bad for the environment, bad for our health, and bad for the farmer.”

Reconnecting consumers to producers is key to Ben’s vision and Farmdrop has a unique approach that champions minimal waste as customers ‘click to harvest’ meaning food is only harvested when a customer places an order. Farmers get a better deal too, receiving 75% of the retail price compared to the 25%-50% supermarkets pay. For Rowie Meers of Purton House Organics, an ethical, small-scale, mixed farm she runs with her three daughters, it has turned her business around. “Making direct sales to customers with Farmdrop has meant that I can stay true to my values as a small-scale organic farmer and still viably produce wholesome, locally-sourced food. In Farmdrop’s model, food is only harvested after customers place an order. This has really helped our business because income is guaranteed and I’m not spending time out of the fields chasing payments. It’s thanks to selling most of our produce via Farmdrop that we can now fully stock our farm shop too.”

Victoria Robinson, a Nappy Valley resident, has been a customer of Farmdrop for over 18 months.

“I get a delivery every week, sometimes twice a week, and I love the produce and the suppliers. It’s wonderful quality and choice, the delivery people are so friendly, they unpack it and take the boxes away. It’s farmers’ market shopping without the hassle. I used to love going to farmers’ markets and I miss them, but I simply don’t have time. With Farmdrop I feel I am still supporting those producers because many of them are local or have a crossover. The cheeses are wonderful and the kefir is delicious. I love small things about it, such as ordering scallops which have been hand- dived for in Scotland. It just makes you enjoy food so much more because it’s in tune with the producers and it’s seasonal.”

Convenience is key to Farmdrop’s vision, with one-hour delivery windows seven days a week via a fleet of electric, zero-emission vans, as well as an ever-increasing range of products for the whole family. New to the site is the Baby & Kids section, with handmade organic compotes, so little ones can benefit from the goodness of organic, fresh food free from all those nasties found in processed foods. “People are starting to realise that there is a fundamental link between the food we eat, the environment in which it is grown, and the way it impacts our health. My two small children have been eating Farmdrop produce since they were born and they have never needed antibiotics, which is practically unheard of among my friends with children. I’m on a mission to give more people access to this type of incredibly fresh food, straight from local farmers and producers.”

To join the Farmdrop way of shopping, visit farmdrop.com
Farmdrop have given NappyValleyNet readers an exclusive introductory
offer of £25 off your first shop (min. spend £50).

Simply enter “nappyvalley25” at the checkout.