On Friday, Richard spent the morning volunteering with the Veg Box Donation Scheme (VBDS) in Potton.
The scheme was recently successful in its bid to secure funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. It was awarded £9,950 to help support communities in Potton, Biggleswade, Sandy and the surrounding area.
VBDS has been running since 2020 and is staffed by 16 volunteers. It was founded by Sharon Mey, a keen organic, no-dig vegetable gardener and proponent of healthy eating, after she realised that the standard foodbank parcels lacked fresh, healthy vegetables and fruit.
The group now provide between 30-40 veg boxes a week to households in northeast Bedfordshire, and the numbers are growing. Volunteers get together on a Friday morning to sort the donations from local growers, businesses and supermarkets, and the produce purchased with grant funding, and then pack the veg boxes according to the size of the household. The veg boxes are then delivered free of charge to the households who have been referred to VBDS by foodbanks, schools, charities, and agencies.
The funding from The National Lottery Community Fund is helping to purchase produce to top up the boxes, reimburse travel costs for volunteers collect donations and deliver veg boxes, and cover essential running costs.
Richard Fuller MP said:
I thoroughly enjoyed my morning with Sharon, Ash and all the fabulous volunteers at Veg Box Donation Scheme at Potton Scout Hut on Friday.
This scheme plays an essential role in providing emergency boxes of fruit and vegetables to those who most need them in Potton, Biggleswade and Sandy and It's wonderful to see people give up their time to source, schedule, pack and deliver these boxes.
I will aim to return in the not too distant future and I would urge anyone who may be able to help to find out more at the Veg Box Donation Scheme website: https://www.vbds.org.uk/
