Mobile greengrocer seeks help to source new bus

Queen of Green offers seasonal fruit and vegetables, bought at market each day, at an affordable price

A non-profit service which aims to get more fresh fruit and vegetables into people's diets on Merseyside has appealed for help to source a new bus.

Queen of Greens buys its produce from local markets each day and heads out into areas of Liverpool and Knowsley where "it's easier to buy a vape than an apple".

However, the converted Ford mobility bus the service uses to get into the community is out of action, meaning it has resorted to hiring a bus each week at great cost.

Lucy Antal, director of the community interest ocmpany which runs the services, said the problem began with a crack in the bus's windscreen.

She told BBC Radio Merseyside she and her colleagues initially believed it was a simple case of contacting a glass repair services.

However, she said: "Turns out that when that bus was created it was a custom fitting and the organisation that did that custom fitting went bust during Covid, so we can't go back to them."

Director Lucy Antal said the service has resorted to renting a vehicle at great cost

Queen of Greens has since contacted "every single glass fitter known to man" and has been unsuccessful.

Ms Antal said the cost of renting a bus is unsustainable, so the company has appealed to the public for help via an online crowdfunding page.

It is hoping to raise £19,000 for a new bus, including the cost of converting it into a mobile fruit and vegetable carrier and branding.

So far, the appeal has raised more than £3,200.

'Nothing healthy'

Ms Antal said the bus is vital to carrying on the company's mission of making it easier for people to access healthy fresh food on its dozens of weekly stops.

The bus also hands out healthy recipes and has recently been joined by healthcare workers from the Cancer Alliance, offering advice and signposting to services.

Ms Antal said: "We really wanted to get into the spaces of Liverpool and Knowsley where it is easier to buy a vape than to buy an apple, and we've found that roughly 91% of our customers only have to walk five minutes to come and get stuff from our bus.

"That's important because where they're living there's nothing - there's certainly nothing healthy."

Ms Antal said any donations made in the next 10 days would be matched by the Aviva Community Fund.