During the Covid-19 pandemic people flocked to businesses willing and able to deliver fresh food. Thousands of households discovered ‘box schemes’ such as the one provided by Surrey company Greener Greens. Based in Leigh, it had been quietly providing, high-quality, farm fresh, affordable produce to customers across Surrey, West Sussex and South West London for nearly two decades.
But when Covid hit in March 2020, Greener Greens (along with a raft of similar delivery schemes) suddenly became everyone’s go-to grocer while people struggled to source food during the initial lockdown.
With retail now returned to its previous footing, Local Food Britain caught up with owner Jill Morris to find out how the firm has fared over the past two years.
Jill says: “We have always been busy but during lockdown our orders quadrupled almost overnight. We had to make changes very quickly - taking on more drivers and making changes to the website to help with all the demands for orders.
“It was hectic, but we considered ourselves lucky as were able to get out on the farm everyday and we were able to do something positive at what was a very challenging time.”
Founded in 1995, the box scheme supplies the finest organic produce around, along with essentials such as pasta, rice, cereals, dairy, honey, jams and oils. Jill works closely with a small number of local farms to ensure that the produce that makes it into a Greener Greens veg box is the freshest and most nutritious it can be.
“We were able to keep a good number of new clients following the pandemic, but despite people constantly thanking us and praising the produce, many more returned to the supermarkets once restrictions were lifted.”
Undaunted, Jill and the team are continuing to supply great tasting fresh produce to a host of grateful consumers, while simultaneously promoting the benefits of organic products.
“I am wedded to organic,” she laughs. “The health benefits are huge and I think buying food that has been grown in that way is the right thing to do. We work closely with a small number of growers and farmers who all share the same view – and they are local too, so you do not have to worry about how far your food has travelled.
“I know people are worried about costs at the moment, but our boxes are designed to help people create meals for each day of the week. We try to offer seasonal produce wherever possible, but our main goal is to keep our customers – and our suppliers – happy.”
You can find out more about Greener Greens here:
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