The organic food market is growing due to the necessary concerns of the population regarding the safety and quality of the food that we eat. In particular recent concerns over the use of Genetically Modified Organisms have helped highlight the advantages of purchasing organic and vegetarian food. Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental impacts of intense farming and pesticide usage. Research shows that the people in the Hull area have poor access to organic produce, and many are forced to buy from supermarkets that do not have the true concerns of the local community at heart and also encourage the use of polluting modes of transport that involve many extra costs both financially and environmentally.

The concept of "food miles" is of paramount importance, this is why Arthur St Trading Company are at the forefront of socially and environmentally responsible business practices. The home delivery scheme does not disadvantage the car-less, the old or the poor; it provides an efficient and friendly service. Local deliveries are made in a customised electric milk float that is recharged at the Arthur Street workshops; utilising the solar power produced by the photo-voltaic solar tiles on the roof of the workshop building. Wherever possible we promote the concepts of sustainability in line with the Agenda 21 drawn up at the Rio Earth Summit. Buying locally and buying goods that are "fairly traded" is the responsible action that we can all espouse to as consumers.

Slater Organics of Long Riston (approx 10 miles away) and Goosemoorganics in Wetherby are the main suppliers that we currently use. Bob Slater has recently expanded with the addition of a walled garden to his productive fields and will continue to supply us with the bulk of our standard seasonal veg boxes. Customers are able to order Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large boxes of local organic veg or can customise their order from a range of fruit and veg that is available on a weekly basis from Goosemoor. The majority of our wholefoods are sourced from Suma Wholefoods, a Workers Co-operative in Halifax and we also have links with Bio-D Co Ltd in Hull who manufacture a range of environmentally friendly cleaning products. The cleaning products are available from us through a refill service that promotes our efforts towards recycling.

The Organic Veg Box Delivery Scheme currently has around 180 customers who are contacted by phone every week on a Thursday/Friday evening, the customer can then select from a variety of standard boxes or customise their own box from the list of veg available, and also order from any other produce currently in stock. Our price list is updated weekly and emailed out to those on our mailing list at around 6pm every Thursday. The orders are placed with the growers by Saturday morning for delivery to the workshop on the following Tuesday. On arrival it is weighed and boxed-up in the "dry" room, with delivery being made on Tuesday afternoons to outlying villages as far as Beverley and Brough; Tuesday evenings to central and West Hull, and Wednesday evenings to East Hull.

We ask for orders to be in by 8pm Friday evenings, payment can be made on delivery or you can send us a cheque if you're out when we call - we'll try to leave the box in a safe place! Deliveries to areas beyond those currently served can be arranged via parcel post and details can be obtained on request. The workshop at Arthur Street comprises two rooms, one for the veg packaging and the other for food processing. Our product range is still relatively new but we currently have three varieties of Organic Hummus on the market; Organic Hummus, Organic Hummus with Sundried Tomato and Organic Hummus with Kalamata Olive. Goosemoorganics in Wetherby distribute across the North of England and Suma Wholefoods distribute nationally. We have also marketed a range of Organic Christmas Hampers that include many luxury items, various sizes are available as well as Vegan alternatives and Gluten Free products.The hampers provide us with ample opportunity to offer carefully selected organic wines and beers, many of which are award winning products.