Member Article

Business looking healthy for local organic veg team

Good news for Iain and Liz Pocklington, who deliver Riverford’s organic veg boxes to homes in the North Yorkshire and South Durham area, following the latest Soil Association Organic Market Report.

The report tells of a 6% growth to the organic market in the last year. This is the sixth year of growth for the organic market with sales rising to a record £2.2 billion.

Iain and Liz explained, “This is really good news for us. Like the rest of the organic industry, Riverford have seen year on year growth with new customer numbers and weekly deliveries. It seems more and more people are recognising organic food for its health benefits, assurance of trust and traceability, and also as a more environmentally friendly way to buy food and support a sustainable farming system.

“Sustainability is one of the main reasons Riverford have farmed organically for over 30 years now. Since day one the business has believed in a better way of producing food and it’s so reassuring to see others are catching on too.”

Sales of organic products in supermarkets rose by 4.2%, while home delivery services like Riverford saw an impressive 9.7% rise.

The amount of farmland in conversion to organic also rose by 22%, as growers respond to the growing demand for organic food.

Riverford’s organic offering extends to high welfare, pasture reared meat and dairy, recipe boxes and much more. Find out more at www.riverford.co.uk

For more information on this story and Riverford, contact Liz Pocklington on 01347 824114

Background Information

Riverford was founded when Guy Watson started growing organic veg on the family farm in Devon, with a wheelbarrow and a borrowed tractor in 1987. His pioneering veg box scheme now sends out around 47,000 boxes a week to a loyal band of customers who share his commitment to fresh, seasonal food, produced with respect to customers, staff, farmers, livestock and the environment. From the start, the business has minimised its environmental impact, from the way food is grown through to how it is packed and delivered. You won’t find crazy supermarket-style cosmetic specifications; just beautiful, often wonky veg, that is grown for flavour. Having been badly treated by supermarket buyers himself, Guy agrees prices with farmers in advance, and gives them a guaranteed market for their produce. Twice voted BBC Farmer of the Year, Guy is a true veg expert and writes about sustainable farming, the politics of food production and better ways of doing business. In 2018 Riverford will become employee-owned. The Riverford veg box was also named Ethical Product of the Decade by The Observer.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Thompson .