Innovative new Veggie Butchers opens at award winning Yorkshire farm shop

An award-winning farm shop has introduced a new butchery counter that only deals in vegetables.
The new Veggie Butcher at the award winning farm shop in SkiptonThe new Veggie Butcher at the award winning farm shop in Skipton
The new Veggie Butcher at the award winning farm shop in Skipton

Keelham Farm Shop in Skipton is now giving veggies the same care and attention it pays to its carefully sourced meat, with a counter dedicated to every different type of veg, prepared every way possible.

The farm shop, which won an international green award for its innovative Veg Exchange, last year, aims to encourage people to introduce more vegetables into their diets and reduce food waste.

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Co-founder Victoria Robertshaw said that while meat remained at the heart of Keelham and its roots, they also understood that some customers habits were changing with many wanting to put more vegetables into their meals.

The Yorkshire farm shop where you can swap your home grown fruit and veg for their produceThe Yorkshire businesswoman bringing game to the masses - in ready mealsFollowing conversations with its customers, Victoria said it became very clear that people wanted to eat more vegetables but found them time-consuming to prepare or struggled to know how to make them into tasty meals.

“We have always been champions of good quality, locally sourced meat, working closely with our trusted network of local farmers and suppliers across the region.

“So we wanted to apply the same care and attention our skilled meat butchers give to their craft to our vegetables.

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“The days when vegetables are seen as simply ‘good for you’ but not tasty or interesting are long gone – the possibilities for making delicious plant-based dishes are endless,” Victoria said. Keen advocates of reducing food waste, the Veggie Butchers is also about helping people find new ways to use the produce they buy.

Since its inception, Keelham has been looking at ways to help customers avoid waste, moving away from a business model which encourages people to buy more than they need.

“We sell everything as a single item, so you don’t have bags of stuff going off in the fridge,” Victoria explained.

“You can buy one apple, one sausage etc. It not only cuts down on waste but also makes it affordable. And we never do multi-buy promotions on fresh food.”

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As in other areas of the shop, visitors to the veggie counter can bring their own reusable containers and choose as much – or as little – as they please.

“We are always listening to our customers and looking for ways to help make their home-cooking easier,” Victoria said.

“They tell us they want to reduce food waste and to find the time to prepare tasty food from scratch, so with the Veggie Butchers, we hope to make it really easy for people to make healthier, more eco-conscious choices, whilst keeping the focus on great-tasting ingredients.”

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