Info About Agriculture
Box Schemes
Vegetable box schemes first started in 2007 and there are now around 600 of these schemes in place through out the UK. The box schemes are usually started by a local co-operative in order to support local farmers, or by farmers themselves. The boxes are mad up of locally and organically grown produce which is either delivered first hand to the costumer or at a collection point such as through a wholesalers, and in cases where they pass through wholesalers they have seen a 100 million profit each year just due to the box scheme.
The majority of box schemes are done so on a local basis but in recent years the large supermarket chains have started to offer the same service, when they first started to do so may local farmers were worried that they would lose out on some of their business because of this. However the effects of the supermarkets doing so have been fairly non existent due to local people continuing to go with their local farmers to support their own community.
How do they work?
On the whole box schemes work by signing up to a weekly of fortnightly contract as to which suits you to get your fresh vegetables and fruit delivered. Costumers aren't able to pick what goes into the box as this is generally left to the farmers as to what they have in supply due to season changes and availability etc. Along with the delivery of their fruit and vegetable box costumers can also chose to have meat and dairy products to be delivered also.
Agriculture & Farming
-
The production of food and goods through farming and forestry.