An initiative, which aims to make healthy, planet-friendly fruit and veg more accessible and affordable for everyone – especially those facing low incomes and health inequalities – is expanding as it enters the next phase of its development.
After a successful pilot with 20 participants, the second phase of the Cardiff Planet Card initiative will expand to 120 participants, who will each have a weekly credit of £11 that they can spend on fresh produce at any of the participating farmers markets across Cardiff.
Residents of Cardiff who are eligible and interested in participating in the Planet Card program can now apply online. Successful applicants will be issued a Planet Card that can be used to make purchases from Cardiff’s Roath or Riverside Farmers Markets. The card will be topped up with a £11 credit every week which can be spent on fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Planet Card initiative is designed to address the issue of food insecurity and to improve access to healthy, sustainable food options for people experiencing low-income. By providing participants with financial support to shop at farmers markets, the program aims both to increase consumption of planet-friendly produce whilst also supporting local farmers.
In terms of the ‘planet-friendly’ credentials, the scheme aims to promote fruit and vegetables that are grown in a way that does not harm the environment using methods that do not use harmful chemicals such as pesticides.
Carol Adams, enterprise manager at Cardiff Farmers Market explained:
“We are excited to launch this second phase of the Planet Card project and to extend its reach further into the community, helping residents in Cardiff to make healthy and sustainable food choices.
“It has been great to start to break down some of the perceived barriers around shopping at farmers markets, and to show people the benefits of being able to buy direct from the grower. It’s not only competitive on price with the supermarket, but you can also more easily control the amount you’re buying and get expert advice from producers on how to cook and store fresh fruit and veg.”
Participating traders and growers at Cardiff Farmers Markets include Paul’s Organic Veg, Coed Organic, and Slad Valley Mushrooms.
Participants are being asked to try the Planet Card over a six month period during which they will be asked to give feedback through focus groups, surveys or interviews. The Planet Card team will use the evidence from the pilots to make recommendations for national and local level policy change.
The Cardiff pilot scheme has been coordinated through the Food Cardiff network which connects people and projects working to promote healthy, environmentally sustainable and ethical food across the city. It has been funded by Bridging the Gap, a partnership between Sustain, Growing Communities, the Alexandra Rose Charity Nourish NI, Nourish Scotland and Food Sense Wales.
Food Cardiff coordinator Pearl Costello added:
“The Planet Cardiff is a great example of Food Cardiff’s mission in action – helping to put good food at the heart of strong, healthy, resilient communities. As part of a strong good food movement in the city, we are proud to have brought together the partners in this project and supported the development of this pilot project, which came out of a Bridging the Gap ‘Big Ideas’ event and co-production workshop which we hosted. We look forward to reviewing what can be learnt from the pilot about supporting access to healthy sustainable food, and to how we as a partnership can build on that insight.
“The Planet Card pilot also played its part in Cardiff achieving Gold Sustainable Food Place status, showing the strength of the good food movement in the city and the efforts being made to make climate-friendly food options more accessible and affordable.”
People interested in taking part in the second phase of the project should visit www.riversidemarket.org.uk/planet-card.
