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Garden Friends Farm Shop and Vegetable Box Scheme

2007 Regional Finalist
Greengrocer / Box Scheme

Selling: Fruit & Veg

Garden Friends offers customers a selection of fresh Bedfordshire vegetables, all sourced from growers within a 15 mile radius, meaning that food miles are kept low. Weekly boxes come in three different sizes, and contain a variety of seasonal favourites, such as asparagus, tomatoes, new potatoes, carrots and lettuce. Extras can also be ordered, and these range from freshly dried herbs, juices, free-range eggs, flour, honey, and even fudge. Free delivery is offered to surrounding villages, as well as those living away from the countryside in Bedford itself. Their new Farm Shop opened May 2009, based in the grounds of Roxton Garden Centre The shop only supplies locally produced food and crafts. Not only does the shop sell their award winning vegetables, but it now has produce from 26 other local producers, ranging from beef, lamb & pork, cheese, honey, pickles, jams and preserves and crafts from local artists including stained glass and hand sewn bags.

Address:
Top Farm
The Lane
Wyboston
Bedfordshire
MK44 3AS

Tel: 01480 210383

Website: www.gardenfriendsvegetablebox.com

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Latest Reviews

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The food is out of this world,the taste is exactly how the food should taste. I only want the best and thats what i get. Val is very good at what she does and it shows with the care and attition she gives.

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 02 Jul 2009 8:12 PM

Mark and Val are two great people who know their business and are in tune with there customers, the produce is first class as well as the service, we wish them all the sucess for the future, the new shop is beautifully laid out with a great selection of all food produce, hope this is of some some assistance.

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 02 Jul 2009 8:09 PM

It is like Christmas. you never know what you are going to get until it arrives! Great, fresh LOCAL food, and nice people delivering them too :)

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 02 Jul 2009 7:05 PM

wow shopping just became fun the farm shop is inspirational, great local products, pricing is fantastic for such quality, and gifts for me and the family

valerie11111 valerie11111 Posted 02 Jul 2009 4:51 PM

Best the obvious benefits of support local producers, reducing food miles and eating seasonally. My delivery day is like coming home to Christmas, with the excitement of seeing what is in the box and then planning my meals for the coming week. Val and the team are really helpful and can accomodate last minute changes without so much as groan. Keep up the good work.

Keen Cook1 Keen Cook1 Posted 02 Jul 2009 11:32 AM

Many people have organic veg boxes these days which are great except that most of the produce is flown in from the other side of the world! What are we doing? It's crazy. We need to return to living with the seasons, eat local foods and supporting our growers before they go out of business. This is what Garden Friends does for me, so thank you, and thank you too to the organic growers who supply them but are too small to go for the official Soil Association stamp. The new garden centre shop is great. With local sausages, cheese, fruit & veg, you could do all your weekly food shop there. My only suggestion for improving the service? Why not stock locally produced toilet rolls and then it could be bye bye Tesco & hello Garden Friends!

maggie102 maggie102 Posted 01 Jul 2009 7:24 PM

I hate shopping but love really decent veg, so having a veg box every week is perfect, great quality, great service. I love it!

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 01 Jul 2009 5:00 PM

Fresh, tasty fruit and veg; knowing it is local is great and it is helping the economy of Bedfordshire. Val is lovely, always cheerful, even in the snow of last winter!!

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 01 Jul 2009 12:00 AM

When my kids said that they could tell the difference between the "real" veggies and the Tesco "stuff" I knew I had made the right choice!

alexonlyalex alexonlyalex Posted 30 Jun 2009 6:43 PM

Garden friends are amazing! The service is fantastic, the veg is of superb quality and is always delivered without fail. Everyone is very friendly and will do anything to help. I adore my veg box. It's the highlight of my week. The food I cook with these beautiful veg taste delicious. Well worth the small amount I pay for them.

MarquiR56003 MarquiR56003 Posted 30 Jun 2009 9:53 AM

WOW THE PRODUCTS ARE FAB, WHAT A BRILLIANT PLACE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED UNDER ONE ROOF

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 23 Jun 2009 5:23 PM

Mark & Val go from strenght to strenght. The new farm shop based in the grounds of Roxton Garden Centre is fantastic. The shop will enable local villagers and visitors to the garden centre the opportunity to buy fresh local food. They have some great local producers of vegetables, meat, cheese, jams and chutneys, bread and cakes supplying them with good fresh local produce straight from farm to fork. Over 25 local producers now have another local outlet where their products are available and customers can come and buy all they need under one roof. The taster sessions which they hold every weekend are great as you get to try new food. well done to the two of you

Anonymous Anonymous Posted 22 Jun 2009 3:11 PM

The new "It's all in the van Farmers' Market" delivery works really well. By visiting rural villages who have lost there local shop Val & Mark have brought a new version of the old concept of the veg man who used to deliver to the villages. By coming at the same time as the mobile library it allows all ages to try out the vegetables which are grown in Bedfordshire and the other local extra's that they deliver with the box scheme. Some of the older members of the community don't want a full veg box so this allows them to buy just the amount that they need for themselves

val110 val110 Posted 27 Jun 2008 7:18 PM

We got started with GardenFriends by using their honesty box - based 'stall' in front of the House. This was particularly good for Sunday mornings when the eggs had run out. since then we have upgraded to the weekly deliveries (which, incidentally, also comes with eggs if you ask). A useful and convenient service, great value for money and supporting the local community. Nice people too.

PiersBurgoyne PiersBurgoyne Posted 22 Jun 2008 6:19 PM

My veg and fruit box has just been delivered and it continues to be good, in fact excellent. My veg box contains young beetroot, broadbeans, potatoes, tomatoes, soft fruit, etc. Oh, and eggs. All I need to do is go to my local butcher and I am set for the weekend... no more shopping! It saves money and time.

Babs43 Babs43 Posted 19 Jun 2008 10:37 AM

I discovered garden friends at the marston vale farmers market last year, i wanted a different gift for my parents so i brought a gift voucher for 5 mixed fruit/veg boxes. It was enjoyed so much that other members of the family decided to get the box delivered to. I love getting my mixed fruit and veg box, its like christmas every other wednesday. always freash always different and if you dont like something, tell Val she will sort it out quick smart . LOVELY :-)

Luan71 Luan71 Posted 10 Jun 2008 12:40 PM

Have been using this service for a few months now. Offers brilliant value, local produce with no packaging; plus the excitement of wondering what will be in the vegetable box this week.

Gill108 Gill108 Posted 25 May 2008 9:36 PM

Great value, excellent veg and low food miles. Great friendly service. Reliable delivery. Supporting local community of farmers and producers. Continue the good work.

Julie Masters Julie Masters Posted 20 May 2008 9:31 AM

We discovered Garden Friends outside Roxton Garden Centre last year, and haven't looked back since! The vegetables are absolutley full of of flavour, the flexibility of delivery location has been very helpful ensuring we didn't lose out, and the general communication from Garden Friends has been nothing but the best. We have even converted a number of friends who have become regular customers.

gingerbird1 gingerbird1 Posted 17 May 2008 8:15 AM

Excellent tasting fruit, veg and eggs. I particularly like doing my bit for the environment by using seasonal food with low food miles and no packaging. Gordon Ramsey recently said that restaurants not using seasonal produce should be fined and I smiled. Also, recently in the news, researchers have found that family’s in the UK are throwing away hundreds of pounds per year in wasted supermarket food. One of the suggested methods to reduce this waste was to join a veg box scheme and I smiled. And finally, the government are constantly encouraging everyone to eat 5 fruit and veg a day. Joining the Garden Friends weekly box scheme makes achieving this so much easier.

SteveD2 SteveD2 Posted 15 May 2008 9:13 AM

I love the fresh, tasty veg with no packaging and the reliable delivery and freindly service - Great value to!

Stonsey Stonsey Posted 14 May 2008 9:42 PM

before we meet val & mark we had been reducing the amount of vegetables and fruit that we where growing at the nursery, now thanks to the hard work that they have put into educating young and old alike about the values of eating locally grown vegetables that are in season we are now growing more vegetables and different varieities to supply the customers that are joining the box scheme we are delighted to be one of their growers, and have never meet such a lovely couple who have so much time to give to not only their own young family but to others that they meet.

rob138 rob138 Posted 14 May 2008 5:10 PM

excellent produce - converted me to some fruit and veg I had never tried before. my favourite is the lovely rhubarb. free delivery and a good selection too. just how food should taste alibaba77

alibaba77 alibaba77 Posted 14 May 2008 9:58 AM

I used to buy the most expensive tomatoes at my local supermarket and thought they were delicious until i tasted the ones in my veg box that is. The quality is great, the price is great, and free delivery! Its always like christmas when i get my delivery, i never know what to expect! I have recommended this scheme to everyone i know!

helen1980 helen1980 Posted 31 Aug 2007 4:05 PM

The food is always fresh and always different . It's a pleasure deciding what to cook first. Val always has a smile and is always ready with a recipe when I'm unsure of how to cook some things. I never knew Bedfordshire produced so much varied veg.

tillyj tillyj Posted 22 May 2007 3:04 PM

We moved to England 6 months ago, and Val's gorgeous fruits and veggies are one of our favorite things about living here! No one delivers food to your door in the States!

rbunting29 rbunting29 Posted 21 May 2007 8:20 PM

We have used Garden Friends for a while now and val & mark are not only selling lovely produce but will often slip a recipe leaflet in when using unusual veg which is a great help!!! they are both very friendly and go out of their way to get different items for us thanks again and keep up the good work.

ginge77 ginge77 Posted 21 May 2007 7:47 PM

Great fruit & veg thats low in food miles - really fresh & fantastic taste. The service from Val & Mark is brilliant - nothing is too much trouble. Definitely recommended!

Zils Zils Posted 19 Apr 2007 3:19 PM

A good range of quality produce, delivered with a really good service. Mark and Val, who run the scheme, are good as gold. One of the wisest buying choices we've made.

JamieChalmers JamieChalmers Posted 22 Aug 2006 8:56 AM

having become disillusioned with supermarket vegetables we decided we were probably not the only people out there looking for a source of good local produce at competitive prices so 1 year ago we set up the box scheme sourcing our vegetables from local growers. our vegetables aren't certified as organic but many of our local growers are of the old school and don't use chemical controls just good old fashioned knowledge and companion growing none of the vegetables have travelled more than 15 miles from where we live and therefore the food miles are greatly reduced compared to supermarkets and some other box schemes the vegetables are seasonal and taste just like they did when i was a kid

valerie11111 valerie11111 Posted 10 Aug 2006 5:32 PM

Crunchy flavoursome celery, burstingly sweet cherry tomatoes, fragrantly gorgeous strawberries...just some of my favourites from the Garden Friends Box scheme this summer. Each week is delight in local sourcing!

Miriam 4 Miriam 4 Posted 08 Aug 2006 8:35 PM

we used the veggie box will on holiday in bedfordshire what a great way to promote local, seasonal food

harvey 3 harvey 3 Posted 05 Aug 2006 8:46 PM

A good selection of local produce delivered every week. Fresher produce and fewer food miles used - what could be better? The eggs are lovely too!

Craney Craney Posted 02 Aug 2006 12:39 PM

super-fresh seasonal veg and fruit. Lacally sourced and delivered promptly. The recipes are a bonus.

Suzette 1 Suzette 1 Posted 25 Jul 2006 12:21 PM

Really lovely people. Reliable service and fabulous food. Veg never tasted so good!

Tailesina Tailesina Posted 21 Jul 2006 5:25 PM

When our daughter gets her box delivered she thinks its christmas day all over again

the recipes help her try exciting ways of cooking the vegetables which she would never have done before

redchristmas redchristmas Posted 03 Jul 2006 4:45 PM