We've been getting a small veg box from North Aston for about a month now and we're very happy with it. The idea that it's properly local (only about 5 miles away), unlike some of the bigger schemes, as well as being organic is a bonus. They're also more efficient than some systems because they drop off at one pick-up point for each village (in my case, it's a few doors down on my road!). You get a discount for returning the box each week and the quality is very good, bearing in mind that cosmetic imperfections are no reason for excluding produce from the box.

A potential downside is that they don't allow you to tailor the contents of your box, as you can with the bigger suppliers, because they don't have the capacity to absorb varying demands. That said, they argue that there's nothing inedible in the box and they can give you plenty of recipes so that you can enjoy everything!

It's very affordable too: £8 covers almost all of our veggie needs for two people for a week and, being a vegan household, we need more veg than most!

I went to Arujo on the above recommendations and, I'm pleased to say, they weren't exaggerating! It's quite a well-stocked shop (but not overcrowded) with a good selection of organic fruit & veg, plus all the staples for a vegan diet and a large cleaning and toiletries section. The staff are very friendly, full of advice and interested in their customers, and even recognised us on our second ever visit!

A handy tip at the moment: they have a promotion with Bags of Change, which gives you a 5% discount on your shop if you carry a Bags of Change bag (and you can buy one there, of course).

I bought a box of their green tea at the Real Food Festival and got through it pdq. Putting aside the price (which puts it firmly in the 'luxury product' bracket) and the fact that it's blended with 'specially selected' Chinese teas (making it hard to judge the quality of the Tregothnan tea itself), it's every bit as tasty as shipped-in varieties. Kudos, too, to Tregothnan for thinking outside the tea chest and being the first to grow something commercially, that we consume in huge amounts yet have no self-sufficiency in (anecdotally, one of the biggest fears of wartime blockades on Britain was that they might lead to a tea shortage).

At this price, it'll never replace PG Tips or Clipper or whomever, but it's nice to know we CAN have commodities without the food miles.

I only have one complaint besides the price tag: Surely it's CORNISH tea, rather than English?!