AS a cooperative, Cultivate is all about bringing people together and we’re always looking for new opportunities to do so.

That is why we are so pleased to be launching a new VegVan stop outside the Jolly Postboys pub in Florence Park every Wednesday 3pm-7pm starting on August 23.

l like to feel that each of our stops provides a little place where people from the surrounding neighbourhood can get together, get some great locally-grown fresh food and have a natter over a bunch of carrots.

It's great to hear our customers sharing recipe ideas and recommending new veggies to each other and it gives each of our locations a real buzz.

Food is often at the heart of people coming together: whether it's growing, buying, cooking or eating it, there’s a certain connectivity that is felt when there’s food around.

Preserving spaces we can come together is becoming increasingly important as we see more and more closures of community assets such as pools, post offices and pubs. Luckily here in Oxford we still have some great food related places for people to come together in.

There's the network of local farmers markets, local delis like Demijohn and The Jericho Cheese Co. on Little Clarendon Street, and of course we have the plethora of local independent restaurants and cafes like The Turl Street Kitchen and Silvie who cook great local and seasonal food and provide an inviting atmosphere to share it in.

The Jolly Postboys team, who are also behind The Chester and The Bear and The Bean, have been working hard to make it a real community hub on the outskirts of Florence Park.

As a social hotspot it has massive potential, so it didn’t take much thinking on our part to accept the offer and agree to a new weekly stop there. We just hope the regulars like delicious fresh veg as much as they like popping in for a pint.

I’ll be personally manning the stop when we kick things off on Wednesday, August 23, and I’m really excited to be able to connect to another Oxford community and spread some love and share some local veggies. Hopefully I’ll see you there.