Grace Russell, marketing and communications coordinator at FoodFutures, shares her insight on being a crop sharer in the Plot’s veg box scheme.
My journey to sustainable food
My perspective in writing this takes a funny dual approach, as I am both an employee at FoodFutures and an individual who is a crop-sharer.
The Plot’s crop-share is a veg box scheme. People can sign up to receive a weekly box filled with locally grown, seasonal, and organic fruit, veg, and herbs. The produce comes from two sites: two acres at Old Holly Farm and two polytunnels at White Lund, between Lancaster and Morecambe.
I joined the veg box scheme in 2024, and it has been a truly enlightening journey for me. I have been passionate about cooking since I was 17, I became a vegetarian while the rest of my family still ate meat, so I started cooking for myself. I became vegan when I was 18 and my passion for healthy and sustainable food grew.
By the age of 22, I had learned a lot about sustainable food production. I was interested in where my food came from and how it was sourced. I mainly delved into the meat and dairy industry, the lack of sustainability in those industries, and Westernised society’s reliance on food and production from countries in the global south.
However, I never delved into the benefits of local food, for myself or my local economy, my interest in sustainable food activism was always focused elsewhere.
FoodFutures and its projects have opened my eyes
This past year, working at FoodFutures and joining the crop-share, I’ve gained such inspiring knowledge about food within my country, specifically my hometown.
Joining the crop-share scheme has been like the practical lessons to my yearlong learnings. I had never cooked regularly with local produce before joining the crop-share. It takes me back to being 17: self-teaching, making mistakes, and learning how to cook from scratch with foods that are new to me.
Each week, I can’t wait to see what surprises I’ll get in my box. Sometimes I deliberately don’t read the crop-share email, containing the weekly veg box ingredients, because I enjoy opening it not knowing what’s inside. It’s my weekly challenge I set myself, to be presented with a box of random veg and have to come up with a dish spontaneously. I am forced to eat foods I’ve never tried before, which strangely I’m enjoying.
One of the benefits of being a FoodFutures employee and a crop-sharer is that I personally know who grows, picks, and packs my veg – they’re my colleagues! I get to read and edit their stories each month before everyone else – like a premium subscription. I learn about their time at the Plot, the things they’re learning, and their struggles, as if I’m peeking through the looking glass.
I feel very honoured to know exactly where my food is grown and by great people who are doing good for the planet and the North Lancashire community.
It’s a community I’m proud to be part of. I tell everyone I can at any given moment, “I’m part of a veg box scheme!”. If you’re not part of the crop-share, you’re missing out on more than just good local organic food. You’re missing out on being part of a positive change in the history of our community.
You can visit the Plot’s webpage for more information and read about the crop share here.
