Organic first

More than 99% of our produce sales by value are for organic certified produce, meaning that it’s been grown with lower levels of pesticides, no manufactured herbicides or artificial fertilisers, in a way that respects nature. We prioritise organic certification in selecting our fresh produce because we believe that organic farming is the best way to produce food whilst looking after nature, the planet and the people who grow and eat the food.

We only source imported certified fruit and vegetables that are organic certified, as we believe this is the best guarantee of quality and sustainable and ethical production when working with distant supply chains. Wherever applicable—such as bananas or pineapples—we also look for Fair Trade certification, as an extra guarantee that those producing the fruit have been treated and paid fairly.

Supporting local producers

It’s important to us to source as much of our fresh produce from local producers as possible, and only ever from growers using organic or agroecological methods – that is, farms using methods that support soil health and nature, but that may not have organic certification. We’re fortunate to work with The Community Farm, who not only grow their own organic field produce, but also act as a hub for a network of local organic growers, enabling us to source from many more local farms. Where we can, we’ll source direct from local growers, or encourage them to work with The Community Farm. We also source produce from a national organic wholesaler, who is able to offer us a wide range of the best produce from across the UK, as well as the South West.

Short food miles

We keep our food miles short by buying as seasonally as possible, whilst still keeping a wide range of staples in stock for customers year-round. We’ll always look to the UK first, never importing produce that is abundant within our own shores. During the ‘hungry gap’, or when the quality of UK produce becomes so poor as to risk high levels of food waste, we’ll look first to Europe, and only to the southern hemisphere for tropical fruit and staples that can’t be found elsewhere at that time of year. We’ll never buy anything that needs airfreighting.

Where we want to be

We’ll continue to source the best quality organic and locally grown fresh produce we can get our hands on. We’re always on the look out for ways to support more local growers, and for ways that we can ensure that our fresh produce range is as sustainable as it can possibly be.

How are we keeping an eye on this policy and putting it into practice?

All new fresh produce suppliers are asked to fill out our sourcing questionnaire, and all suppliers are asked to agree to a supplier code of conduct.