Lets Grow a Fairer Food System for Everyone.

Support Greater Manchester's small-scale farmers and organic growers by donating to Manchester Veg People (MVP).

We grow and supply local, organic and sustainably grown veg to the people of Greater Manchester. We are a unique non-profit distributing co-op of farmers and buyers, beavering away to create a fairer food system, and we really need your help to make it work here and now.

We got together because we were worried about the impact of the current food industry: on the environment, on small-scale farmers and on consumers.

We decided we should do something about it by creating a fairer way of doing business - a co-operative where growers and buyers work together creating relationships of trust and understanding.

MVP supports existing growers (who have particularly struggled over the last two growing seasons due to the unpredictable weather), and crucially new people who want to get into farming - making food growing a viable way to make a living by paying a fair price for their produce (a price that covers the cost of production – which shockingly often isn't the case).

We have been going for 18 months now, and things are starting to take off. We are at an exciting and very crucial stage. The demand for our wonderful fresh produce is growing and we are currently gearing up to supply local primary schools. But we need to raise funds to grow the capacity of the co-op to enable us to do this.

The problem is that until now we have been operating using shared vans and storage space - we need more space and our own van to be able to meet this new demand. Excitingly a knock on effect of this is that we'll need more supply too – which means we'll be increasing the income for our farmers (and providing a fair market for new growers) and as a result, growing more local organic veg!

It's time to get serious, to show that this fairer business model can really work.

So, we're crowdfunding to buy a van, cold store and packing equipment so we can get more local veg from the fields around Gtr Manchester onto Mancunian’s plates.

Food for Thought.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by climate change, feel helpless about workers conditions and loose trust in the food we eat. A fairer food system is something that we can all aspire to and all be part of, by producing or eating more of our food locally and sustainably.

But it is easier for some to access the best and freshest foods, whilst for many good food is seen as a luxury.

Our food system needs to change, and soon. We don't believe that this will happen through the current mainstream food system, which makes huge profits at the expense of small scale growers, family farms and the health of millions of consumers.

We are building a viable alternative that shares the risks and rewards and can bring affordable, healthy and sustainable food to everyone.

Supporting local Farmers to grow.

We’ll let our members explain why it is so important for MVP to grow:

We are tapping into a market that hasn’t really been tapped into before with local organic vegetables for the catering industry: from small cafes and restaurant to large institutions like the University of Manchester. Rob Alderson, Moss Brook Growers.

The potential is huge! I want our produce in local schools and hospitals and MVP is a perfect opportunity to make this happen. Jenny Hall, Fir Tree Community Growers.

Manchester Veg People really needs a van to get things going. Its really difficult to expand the business when there is no vehicle to deliver the produce in. Alan Creedon, Glebelands City Growers.

You are supporting people who have put themselves out there and work hard for a living and it's about supporting that for me. Martin Smith, Executive Chef, University of Manchester.

Good Food for Everyone.

Manchester Veg People has a vision of a Greater Manchester where the freshest, highest quality food is available to everyone: from local cafés to exclusive restaurants, in school meals and on hospital wards. We started 18 months ago supplying restaurants and cafés testing the concept and building credibility. By working closely with the University of Manchester we have proven that we can supply the public sector with affordable food direct from local farms.

By getting a van and having our own dedicated cold store we will be in a strong position to supply the schools and other public institutions we are currently working with.

What we'll spend the money on

We can get a really good large second-hand van for about £8,000, it's then going to cost us around £5,000 to get the van converted so that it's refrigerated. We also need to buy a cold store to store the veg in and that's going to cost around £5,000. Lastly we need to buy some weigh scales, pallet trucks and benches so we can set up our packing area and some packaging. This is all going to cost around £3,000.

We have secured 40% match-funding from the European Union, so for every pound you donate we can claim an additional 40p.

So the bottom line is we are striving to raise £16,000 through this CrowdFunding Campaign and if we are successful we will have £22,000 to grow the co-op and help make good sustainable food available to everyone!

Scarily we're now in the final week of this campaign, but excitingly we haven't got far to go before we reach that target – if everyone who reads this donates just £5 and gets two of their friends to do the same, we'll reach the target in no time.

Thank you!

So, if you believe in a fairer food system, want better access to locally grown organic food for Greater Manchester, or simply want the opportunity to be a farmer for the day or dine at one of our buyers restaurants, have a look at our fantastic rewards and make a pledge!
Thank you so much.

If you have any questions please get in touch on [email protected]

Souper deal vouchers:

Vouchers are available for the following establishments for the Souper Deal reward (see right), there are only a few for each one, please state which you’d like and we’ll do our best to allocate that one to you. Vouchers are given out on a first-come-first-served basis, and we’ll update this list as vouchers are claimed.

Chorlton Green Brasserie - taken!
Common
The Marble Arch - taken!
Aumbry - taken!
The Bay Horse 
Mark Addy - taken!
The Rose Garden - taken!
Wendy’s House - taken!
Christie's Bistro, University of Manchester