The Food Revolution Arrives On My Doorstep

It was a bad moment. The organic fruit and veg section in Canley Sainsbury’s had completely disappeared. So once I got my jaw back in place, I went to ask why.

I only use organic fresh produce you see. And I didn’t want to wade through the chemicalised veg to locate the cunningly concealed pesticide-free items. Life's too short. It was clearly over with Canley Sainsbury’s and time to get online.

Some rapid research revealed two options. River Nene, based near Peterborough, are more local but Wimbledon-based Abel & Cole held the trump card. You don’t need to order a standard veg box and risk getting veg you don’t want. Instead, you just pick out your chosen individual items from their well-stocked online shop. So long as the total reaches a minimum of £10 per delivery, you’re sorted.

The situation was critical so I mentally hurdled my remaining objections. You have to leave your credit card details so payments can be collected on delivery day. This has always made me uneasy but the need for a reliable organic veg supply overrode all doubts. The padlock at the top of my screen looked secure and I’d seen Abel & Cole vans delivering to some of the plushest addresses in Oxford. So I gathered my courage and pressed ‘Submit’.

Overnight, it seems, my life was transformed. No more humming and ha-ing, handling various sad-looking specimens in the highly controlled supermarket environment. No more rooting around to find the one organic bag of apples in a sea of bagged and unbagged varieties stretching into the far distance on the left hand side of aisle 2.

Instead you’ll find me at home, herbal tea to hand, browsing Abel & Cole’s extensive and accessible online shop. They don’t just sell fruit and veg by the way. The range of produce covers bread, dairy products, soya milks and drinks, household cleaning products, loo rolls and oh … 7 different varieties of squash (at the last count). I should also mention (vegetarians please look away now) that they also stock a lot of different sorts of meat.

Shopping online can, if you wish, be a more considered act. There are no people gabbling into their mobiles in the wine section and no trolley bumps sending you hurtling into the man repricing the reduced items. Nothing like. I merely take another sip of tea and turn my attention to researching the provenance of the items on the extensive shopping list hovering in my mind.

There is so much more information available than in your friendly, local retail monopoly. For instance, there’s a product description just in case you don’t know what Cavolo Nero is, and notes on the producer. Plus a small pic so you can see what to expect.

I need to complete my order by midnight on Wednesday for delivery on Friday. And as if by magic first thing every Friday my box appears. The delivery man doesn’t knock - that would be mighty uncivilised at that time in the morning. He just puts my box in a pre-arranged secret hiding place and pushes the receipt through the door. Sorted!

There has been the occasional hitch. Once my delivery didn’t arrive but it turned out it was all my fault. You have to follow the online order procedure right through to the bitter end, I learnt. And to be on the safe side, Abel & Cole send an email to confirm your order’s been received.

The anguish caused by my missed delivery brought out the best in them. Daniel (in Customer Services) was happy to write six paragraphs of email explaining what I’d done wrong and how to ensure my order goes through smoothly next time. In my experience, Abel & Cole always respond rapidly to queries – within 24 hours unless a weekend gets in the way.

Another downside is that organic veg goes off quicker. Did anybody tell you this at school? Don’t worry, it’s natural - it’s the way it’s meant to be. The only reason that six-month-old celery at the back of the fridge is still looking good is because it's preserved in a shield of petrochemical-derived rubbish.

It’s all a question of perspective. When I see the black marks appear on my sprouts it’s a kind of vindication. This is the real deal – the true seal of organic quality. You just have to love it.

Now, when I see my fridge bursting with veg in such a variety of colours, shapes and sizes, my heart gives an involuntary leap. All fresh and green and relatively clean. In fact the soil on the carrots is real enough and helps to keep them fresh.

And on my increasingly rare visits to Canley Sainsbury’s I glance pityingly at the lines of uniform, standard issue veg, waiting to be rescued from their supermarket hell. I wonder how long they’ve been sitting there, how long they spent in transit and if they even remember the soil and air of home.

Then I snap myself out if it and remember my Abel & Cole veg snug in my fridge back home. Vegetables with heart, to nourish instead of poisoning body and soul.

W: www.abelandcole.co.uk
E: organics@abelandcole.co.uk
T: 08452 62 63 64


Last word

Just to prove I can do deadlines although I've been 'off sick' this week and not up to much. I just wrote this and then redrafted and tightened it up but I wouldn't say there's any conscious structure in it. It could do with a quote or two and if I follow it up that could still happen but there hasn't been time and I'm just pleased to have written this relatively quickly.