Charlie wins award for thinking outside the box!

The 39-year-old won the “Customer Acquisition Award” at Riverford Organic Farmers’ annual awards ceremony in London last month.

He was up against 70 Riverford veg teams up and down the country, all delivering award-winning organic fruit, veg, meat and more to over 47,000 customers a week through their iconic veg boxes. On average, Charlie delivers to around 500 homes a week across Lancashire.

The father-of-three explained how people enjoy eating fresh food. “More and more people are wanting a better alternative to the supermarket.

“They want food that’s fresher, tastes better, and that they know where it’s come from. Our customers love hearing stories from the farm; it gives them a real connection with the food on their plate.”

In order to get his 600 new customers, Charlie has spent the last year busy at local food and farming shows, spreading the Riverford word, and working hard promoting Riverford’s new school scheme, all on top of managing his usual weekly deliveries. He also exhibited at this year’s Clitheroe Food Festival.

In addition, the new school scheme, The Veg Fund, is proving to be a real success. The scheme raises money for local schools while introducing families to healthy, seasonal food from Riverford. Once a school is registered, for every new family that begins to have Riverford home deliveries, the school get £15 towards their PTA.

Charlie, who is originally from Dorset, but moved to Gisburn when he married Harriet and has three children Zebedee (1), Otto (4) and six-year-old Raffety, added: “I’m passionate about healthy eating and find it very rewarding being able to sell some of the best fresh produce on the market.

“Since establishing the business in Lancashire one of my biggest growth areas over the last year has been in the Ribble Valley, there is a real demand for healthy living.”