A group of volunteers who sell excess fruit and vegetables grown locally have revealed plans to open Aberdeen’s only dedicated greengrocer.
The Allotment Market Stall team takes produce from the city’s 24 allotments that gardeners do not need and sells it on at monthly events in Seaton and Duthie parks.
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The group then uses the cash to help maintain the plots of cultivated land and cover their costs.
Now the team of 19 volunteers want to open a shop to sell fresh fruit and vegetables all year round in a shop, potentially in Rosemount.
Cath Pilley, one of the organisers of the project, said the business would encourage more people to shop locally, and cut down on wasteful plastic packaging used by large supermarkets.
If the idea comes together, Ms Pilley said it would be the only dedicated greengrocer in Aberdeen.
She said: “Our original idea came about to try and reduce waste on allotment sites.
“We collect all excess produce during the season and sell them in stalls in Seaton and Duthie Park, and the profits are shared between ourselves to run the stalls, and the allotment sites so they can improve the quantity and quality of their produce.
“There are a lot of gardeners in Aberdeen, but for a lot of them they don’t need all the produce they grow, so they give us the rest.
“But we need to be more self-sustainable, as grants and funding become harder and harder to secure, so we got together to think about a way to move forward with our work and keep the stalls going, and came upon the idea of a community greengrocer.
“There isn’t a dedicated greengrocer in Aberdeen at the moment, and there hasn’t been for quite some years – and we think that’s a terrible shame, because people’s access to local grown fruit and veg is terribly limited, so we wanted to do something about that.”
She said that the group was considering Rosemount as it already has independent food shops, but stressed all locations would be considered.
“Right now we’re consulting with the community, and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive – a lot of people say they would use it,” she added.
