For the fifth year in a row, Veg Box People are teaming up with the wonderful Manchester-based charity Mustard Tree to bring Christmas veg boxes to those facing poverty and homelessness this winter. Mustard Tree work with those people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or facing financial crisis, to ensure they have access to essential support. This includes access to their Food Club, discounts in community shops, and furniture vouchers for those recently out of homelessness. They also offer English classes for those in or recently in the asylum system, as well as groups, support and training to all clients.

With inequality soaring as corporate shareholders rake in record profits, the cost of living crisis sees food prices continue to rise, and with energy bills surging over the colder months, a record number of families are facing poverty this winter. Veg Box People are members of the Better Food Traders organisation, who have composed this policy briefing alongside Foodrise which is an interesting read. It details how supermarkets, with a concentration of 95% of all UK food retail purchases, are failing to meet the Government's Food Strategy, prioritising profit over public health, food security and accessibility, and sustainability. Food prices continue to rocket upwards whilst supermarkets make profits of billions, usually by underpaying farmers and workers (e.g. in May 2025 the Department of Business and Trade revealed that Lidl has not been paying some its workers the legal minimum wage). Manchester South Central Food Bank have revealed that 44.7%of children in Manchester are living under the poverty line, with a 22% increase in visits to food banks this year whilst Mustard Tree have seen 1,656 visits to their Food Clubs just in October, reporting the highest footfall ever.

Our Christmas partnership with Mustard Tree aims to bring seasonal, organic, local, healthy and hearty meals to the tables of those facing the worst of these challenges. Many items from donated veg boxes will go directly to their Food Club as ‘free’ options for people, to make sure they can cook healthy, hearty meals. As Harry Dwan from Mustard Tree explains, “There’s a million reasons why that’s brilliant: health, dignity, quality, opportunity; the more varied produce we can provide, the better. Beyond that, it’s about self-efficacy and people realising they deserve access to the best, regardless of circumstances”. When approached about continuing the tradition this year, Harry said "It's the best, freshest food we get all year".

Central to VBP's vision is that good food, which doesn’t cost the earth, should be available for all. We believe in a system that is fair and sustainable, where growers get paid a fair price, where soil health is prioritised and nature respected, where food is seasonal and grown locally so supply chains are short and transparent, and most crucially, where everyone, regardless of circumstance, has access to healthy food.

Last year, with your amazing support and generosity, we donated an amazing 70 veg boxes to Mustard Tree! If you would like to be a part of this in 2025, then head over to our Christmas donation page on our Ooooby site https://vegboxpeople.ooooby.org/christmas to sign up. You can sign up for a one off purchase and choose the drop site 'Hot Bed Press'. Or if you are an existing customer, just click on the ‘Christmas Donation’ tab on your account dashboard.