Photo of three people standing in front of a white van with FareShare South West logos, alongside others, on the side. The man on the right is wearing a dark blue hoodie underneath a yellow high vis vest and holding a box. The man in the middle is wearing a beige fleece underneath an orange high vis vest and a blue woolly hat. The woman on the left is wearing a green fleece underneath an orange high vis vest. All three are smiling at the camera and there is a green crate is just visible on the table in front of them

Bringing fresh fruit and veg directly to people in our communities

We are launching an exciting new pilot project that will help deliver more fresh fruit and veg to communities in Bristol. 

FareShare South West is working in partnership with three organisations, The Park Centre in Knowle West, 224 Youth Zone in Hartcliffe and Avonmouth Community Centre, to deliver the produce pantries. 

Running in addition to our normal operations, these pop-up pantries will enable people to buy fresh, seasonal fruit and veg directly from us at a cost of up to £3 per bag. 

The aim is to make healthy produce a viable choice in communities where options to buy affordable fruit and veg are limited.  

Woman wearing a black top underneath a dark green coat smiles as she holds a large shopping bag. She is looking towards a man wearing a beige fleece underneath an orange high vis vest and a blue woolly hat. There is a van with a FareShare South West logo, among other business logos on the side, behind him and there is another man wearing a yellow high vis vest lifting a green crate in the background. In the background to the right of the photo is the edge of a building and a large sign on which the end of the word 'The Park' is just visible

Providing fresh fruit and veg at an affordable price

There was a queue of people, and a buzz in the air, outside The Park Centre in Knowle West for our first ever produce pantry. 

Customer Amber stopped to chat after filling a bag. 

“I am 46-year-old single mum and I’m a disabled person. I go to the food club locally by my nursery, but this seems amazing. It’s very good value,” says Amber. 

“My son is really fussy with his foods. He is autistic and he only wants to eat pizza and bread every day. So, getting some extra fruit and vegetables into him at a brilliant price is ideal.  

“This is just brilliant for us; it’s a great initiative.” 

Another customer, Lyn, doesn’t have a car so having to walk to the supermarket limits how much she can buy.  

Being able to fill her bag at The Park Centre, where she gets a lift to and from each week for keep fit, means she can stock up on healthy food for her and her great grandchildren. 

Photo of a man and a woman standing in front of a white van with FareShare South West logos, alongside others, on the side. The man is wearing a dark blue hoodie underneath a yellow high vis vest and holding a box. The woman is wearing a green fleece underneath an orange high vis vest and holding a blue shopping bag. Both are smiling at the camera and there is a green crate with oranges in just visible on the table in front of them

Providing freedom of choice

Nina Hourizi, Head of Food and Community at FareShare South West says:  

“We know there are many reasons why people might not be able to buy fresh fruit and veg. Food prices continue to rise, with healthy food costing almost twice as much per calorie as less nutritious alternatives.  

“Compounding this issue, many people don’t have access to a supermarket in their neighbourhood, or can’t easily get to a supermarket, so availability of fresh food is limited.  

“Everyone deserves freedom of choice and the opportunity to benefit from nutritious food.

“By bringing a supply of good quality, seasonal fruit and veg directly to communities, we hope to break down some of these barriers and combat the injustice of who can afford a healthy diet.” 

Photo of a man and a woman standing in front of a white van with FareShare South West logos, alongside others, on the side. The man is wearing a dark blue hoodie underneath a yellow high vis vest and smiling at the camera. The woman is on the other side of a table and wearing a green coat. She is holding a shopping bag as she smiles at the camera. There are rows of green crates full of fruit and veg between them. In the background to the right of the photo is the edge of a building and a large sign on which   the end of the word 'The Park' is just visible

“It’s going to mean an awful lot to people locally”

Michele, a customer who also works at The Park Centre tells us: 

“It’s really great to be able to access services like this, especially as a single parent of a teenage child who eats everything. 

“I think it’s going to mean an awful lot to people locally. We’re in an area which has quite high deprivation and access to these kinds of services will make a great deal of difference to people. 

“In making it open to everyone, it doesn’t mean you have to fall into certain criteria to access it. That means that there’s no stigma.” 

Photo of three people standing in front of a white van with FareShare South West logos, alongside others, on the side. The man on the right is wearing a dark blue hoodie underneath a yellow high vis vest and holding a box. The man in the middle is wearing a beige fleece underneath an orange high vis vest and a blue woolly hat. The woman on the left is wearing a green fleece underneath an orange high vis vest. All three are smiling at the camera and there is a green crate is just visible on the table in front of them. There is also the edge of The Park sign just visible to the right of the photo

We’re excited to be launching produce pantries in Hartcliffe and Avonmouth soon.

And, of course, we continue our normal work sharing good, surplus food with charities, food clubs and schools across the south west. 

You can read more about FareShare South West and how we work in local communities in our 2026 Impact Report.