Sold

Friday is the veg run. We drive east to a village in the Cherwell valley, taking with us empty boxes and bottles. These we exchange for full ones - boxes of organic fruit and veg, bottles of organic milk, occasionally yoghurt, cream, ice cream, meat (with the name of the animal who provided it attached, which brings to my mind the restaurant at the end of the universe). We deliver these to a pick-up point in a village neighbouring ours, or a couple of them get dropped off en route

It all began in the Covid lock-down, when the people who used to do it decided they ought to be shielding. Somehow it seems to have become our job. We get some free veg out of it, it's a pleasant journey, everyone involved is amiable and grateful, I look forward to it. Occasionally we have a chat with the grower (they also buy in some of the produce) - a little window into the goings on in the world of agriculture and horticulture, poking at some old memories from the farming life Mrs M and I were mixed up in in the pre-digital world

In addition to the pre-packed boxes, there is a shack into which they put surplus produce. This is sold on an honesty-box system - or an honesty banking app in our case. My guess is that it is well known locally and passed on by word of mouth. We almost always dip in to top up our box with extras

The whole thing is, of course, "expensive". I expect we are paying 3 or 4 times as much for a cauliflower as we would for something with the same name on the label in a supermarket. But we know it will have taste, we know it will be fresh from the field, we know it will not have sprays on it, and we know at least some of the people who will be benefiting from our money. It may have the same label, but I don't think we are buying the same thing. I recognise of course how lucky I am to be able to make this choice, but it feels to me like a good deal