Farmers’ Market scheme helps families on low-incomes

Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market accepts Healthy Start vouchers for fresh vegetables, fruit and milk Photo © Growing Communities

Stoke Newington Farmers’ market is the only all-organic weekly farmers’ market in the UK.  Under the Healthy Start scheme, low income families are offered vouchers to exchange for milk, fresh fruit and vegetables. Stoke Newington Farmers’ market will be the first farmers’ market in London to accept them.

The farmers’ market is run by Hackney-based group Growing Communities. Its director Julie Brown said: “ We know that that lots of people on low incomes would like to buy organic fruit and vegetables – especially produce that has come from local farms.

“We can’t change the fact that organic food costs more to produce and we want the small family farmers we work with to get a fair price for their produce but by accepting Healthy Start vouchers we hope to enable more people to buy locally produced sustainable food – which has got to be good for them and good for the environment. ”

As well as running the Stoke Newington Farmers Market, Growing Communities also runs an organic fruit and vegetable box scheme – unique amongst London box schemes in that the salad in the bags is actually grown in Hackney.

Growing Communities’ box scheme also accepts Healthy Start vouchers which can be used towards the cost of the weekly fruit or vegetable bags.

Growing Communities was set up by local people in Hackney, North London over ten years ago and now runs two community-led trading projects : an organic fruit and vegetable box scheme and the Stoke Newington Farmers’ market.

Growing Communities has also pioneered urban food growing and produces salads for the box scheme on its three small organic market gardens.

For more information about the Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market or Growing Communities please contact Kerry Rankine on 020 7502 7588 or e-mail: kerry.rankine@growingcommunities.org