Crop-sharers get 27 weekly veg boxes between w/c 29th May – w/c 27th November 2023. Each box is a share of what we harvest that week. We only provide produce that we grow ourselves, so you can be guaranteed that it’s local, seasonal and fresh. In addition to getting a veg box, the crop-share membership means that you become part of a local community that supports local food production and training of new growers through the FarmStart programme.

We don’t do trial boxes, as the content of the boxes varies quite a lot over the seasons. You can however order a box as a one-off through our Open Food Network online shop.

Veg boxes are £15.50 per week for a delivered box, and you get a £2 discount if you collect your share from a collection point.
If you don’t want to become a crop-sharer and commit to the whole season, you can buy veg from our online shop. The online shop is subject to availability, as we aim to fill the veg boxes first.

You can choose whether to get your box delivered (full price) or pick it um from a collection point (£2 discount).

DELIVERY:
Boxes are delivered by Sands Milk, a local milk round to the following areas:
○ Friday morning: Lancaster, Over Kellet, Crag Bank, Heysham, Morecambe
○ Friday afternoon/evening: Forton, Scorton, Galgate
○ Saturday: Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth, Nether Kellet, Hest Bank
Veg is usually delivered in a hessian bag. We ask that you put out a waterproof box to protect the bag from weather/animals, and that you leave the empty bag out to be collected the following week so we can re-use it.

COLLECTION:
You can pick up your box at the following collection points every Friday:
○ PR3 1AA at Old Holly Farm, from 4pm
○ LA1 3PY, from 6pm
○ LA1 5BH, from 6pm
○ LA1 3JE, from 6pm
You can collect your box until 3pm on Monday, but please try to collect it as soon as you can so the veg is as fresh as possible. We are not refund you for uncollected boxes.
We will provide further instructions about how to collect once you sign up.

Each box includes at least six different types of veg each week and will always
include salad leaves. Some weeks it will include herbs and possibly fruit too as our trees and bushes get more established.
All contents of the box are grown locally and organically by The Plot, and we do not buy anything in additionally. This means our boxes are 100% local and seasonal. This does mean that we are likely to be growing similar things to those grown on allotments or in local gardens (with a few specialities of course!). So if you grow your own produce, it may be that ordering directly from the shop on a
weekly basis works better for you, as you can simply complement what you are growing yourself.

All produce grown at our Old Holly Farm site near Garstang is certified organic by the Soil Association (Soil Association, AB30264). This is supplemented with produce from our polytunnels at White Lund near Lancaster/Morecambe. Our original polytunnel at White Lund is certified, and the produce in our second tunnel at our White Lund site is grown using the same growing principles but is currently not yet certified organic.

You can tell us any vegetables you don’t like or are allergic to and we’ll leave them out. You can also order additional quantities through our online shop.

Yes, we highly recommend that you wash all our produce before eating it. You will find that some of our crops have more dirt on them than you might find in the shops. This ensures that they stay fresh longer, but it also means you need to wash them well.

We re-use all our boxes and hessian bags. Please return your box to the collection point when you pick up your next week’s veg, or leave the empty bag outside in a waterproof box if you get deliveries.

We try to use as little plastic as possible. However, for the leafy greens in particular, plastic bags preserve the produce really well so they usually last for a least a week in the fridge. As we want to move away from plastic, we are currently trialling home compostable bags for some items such as kale. At the moment, the compostable bags are ten times more expensive than the plastic ones and have a short shelf-life, so we need to consider this aspect too. Where possible we don’t package at all or use paper bags.

Paying up-front for the whole season is the best option to support the farm, as it gives us planning security and helps us cover costs.
There are three ways to pay for your weekly veg box:
A) Full amount for the season up-front: £418 (delivered box) – Pay now / £364 (collected box) – Pay now
You can choose to pay now, or we will send you a payment link once you signed up.
B) Monthly payments of £69.75 (delivered box) / £60.75 (collected box), for six months
C) Fortnightly payments: £32.15 (delivered box) / £28 (collected box) every two weeks
All payments are made by direct debit through GoCardless, and we will send you a payment link after you signed up. Your payment details will be held securely by GoCardless.

If you need to take a holiday, we suggest that you offer your box to a neighbour, friend or colleague. We cannot refund you if you do not need your box. However, if you do need to cancel your crop-share box for the odd week, then please give us at least a week’s notice. We’ll then ensure that we don’t harvest more vegetables than we need and if possible, we’ll make the veg available to families who would not otherwise access the scheme.
If you need to leave the scheme, please email us at orders-the-plot@lessuk.org to cancel your subscription. We will need four weeks notice from the time we receive your notice.

We don’t just grow food, we also want to transform how the local food economy works and embed that within our local communities. Therefore we organise tours and volunteer working parties at The Plot during the growing season. If you’d like to visit the site, please let us know by email. You can also follow our social media and the FoodFutures events calendar to hear about upcoming farm tours.

We appreciate any feedback you can give. Email will often be the best way of getting in touch: orders-the-plot@lessuk.org
If you are a crop-sharer, please ensure you let us know if your email address changes.
We send crop-sharers regular updates of what is happening at The Plot and about our FarmStarters, and you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Farm tours will also be shared on the FoodFutures newsletter and events calendar.