Why would anyone want a veg box?   A good question - so we asked our existing scheme members to tell us what was in it for them.  This is what they said...

Why I love my Ashurst veg box:  The reasons are many, and I’m happy to get the chance to be all evangelical about it.      
Firstly, it tastes good; really, really good.    This is not only a delight for your tongue, but it means that cooking is simpler; when vegetables taste this nice, they don’t need much more than boiling or steaming and a knob of butter to go down a treat. When you do want to cook something more complex, these vegetables repay your efforts by actually ... read more       -  Roger B
Why do I love our box?  Because it comes from just around the corner, and is grown by people I know.   Because there is very little packaging, and because washing off the caterpillars, lets me know that they were able to survive what I'm eating!                                                                                                                                                                                          - Suzi, East Chiltington
So many reasons why I love having a veggie box (and being a drop-off):
  • convenience: having a routine helps; I know I'm getting the week's veg on Thursday evening and can plan meals around that.  We don't have a car so I love having things delivered as well!
  • loss of control (perhaps better renamed freedom from making decisions!):  I love dealing with whatever comes in the box. This also has been helpful in getting kids to eat a varied diet - you can say, "This is what the farm grew for us this week so we need to eat it."
  • being a drop-off is fun - you get to know your neighbours, and chat about whatever when they come to pick up food, being part of a community.
  • all the obvious stuff about eating local and organic food                       - Stephanie, Lewes
Having had a veg box for some years I can't imagine not having one now.  
I like  knowing our veg has come from the other side of the hill rather than transported in a lorry from the other side of the country. I like being in touch with what is growing when and knowing the people that grow our vegetables and that they do it with respect for the land and the soil and struggle with the vagaries of the weather and pests. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                - Sarah, Brighton
As an Ashurst veg box eating family for over 10 years we still all love looking at what's in the box when it arrives, ooing and ahhing at all the lovely shapes and colours of veg you just don't see in the supermarket. You get a great deal more value for money. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to cook and eat happy food!   Grateful thanks for all your digging and weeding.   - Kate, Brighton
I started having a veg box because I had a baby and wanted the puree to be pure.    Well my son is now twelve and we never stopped getting the box. This is because it just tastes so much better than you can get anywhere else. It also has introduced us to veggies we never knew existed and we became converts to cavalo nero and butternut squash and we go mad for fennel too (mmm more fennel please!) Basically if you cook your own food and notice what it tastes like then a veg box is for you!     - Jo, Al & Alex Martindale
I would be happy to write a testimonial to the loveliness of a veg box! I may be one of your longest members having had a box since 94? 95? With a few little gaps perhaps… 
So why do I love my box?   
1)  The veg taste lovely and fresh - my son eats them like sweeties!
2)   I cook more interesting and adventurous recipes. 
3)   I get to thumb my nose at the supermarkets. 
4)   I bask in the glow of good feeling that I am supporting a local farm and family                                                           -   Lenna   
Just a quick mighty thanks for the superb quality and taste of the swedes I bought from you for Burns Night the other week. We fed 42 people with Haggis, Neeps and tatties in fine style and we were complimented on the excellent taste. 
                                                                                                                                                                                             - Stewart, Ringmer
I am always delighted with the veg I buy from Ashurst and my best friend always comments how wonderful the foods taste. I have bought organic since my first baby started eating 17 years ago but just can't buy supermarket veg any more - even the organic stuff.  Where's the carrot that smells like a carrot, coated with lovely sussex soil?   No, I am an Ashurst Veg fan through and through,
So If you really want to put your purse where your principles are take the plunge and order a box. In my experience it is the only way to really eat organic, eat local and eat seasonal. Go for it.                                                   - Michelle, East Chiltington
Getting my local veg box each week is like growing my own veg.  Seasonal, local food but without all the hard work (and disasters)   A local veg box beats a national veg box scheme: local food is better for you and involves less transportation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         - Kate, Brighton
I first looked for a veg box because
a) I liked the idea of buying food grown locally from a small supplier (cutting down on miles, links in the food chain and hours in transit), and 
b) because I live up a big hill and have no car and don't love cycling potatoes up the hill.
Ashurst have a great variety, even in the winter, and they don't top up with stuff from Argentina or elsewhere across the globe. I enjoy the convenience of having food delivered. This is actually real food and it tastes alive!                   - Alice, Brighton