'I am passionate about food and community and desperately worried about the state of our planet. It maybe too late for the planet but while we live off it I want to do all I can to help us be more sustainable.'

He lives in Regil, North Somerset, with his wife Geraldine, a mover and shaker at Cotham School, and Charlie, their 14 year old son.

'I read, write, talk, drink, and do lots of gardening at home. Love life, people and the arts, but am impatient with the pace of change, coupled with a varyingly healthy/unhealthy amounts of anger and fear.'

When asked what his favourite food was, he slightly missed the point and answered 'Duchy's Winter Ale'.

She started working for the Better Food Company three years ago as a part time shop assistant and has gradually worked her way up to the retail manager’s position, which she has held for the last year and a half. She's always been passionate about food and health, having worked for a number of years as a chef and as an Aromatherapist/massage therapist.

Mel's philosophy? 'To make my little corner of the world a more beautiful place, and to make at least one person smile a day (it makes up for all those I upset!)'.

Laurence has only started working for BFC in November, but don't hold that against him. He manages the overall direction of the Wholesale department and Box Scheme and is just as likely to be packing the boxes as answering your emails. If you want to speak to someone about a box or delivery to your catering establishment, Laurence is your man.

When asked why he was attracted to working for the BFC, Laurence said, "I believe we all have to think globally but act locally, and BFC typifies that mentality. Organic. Local. Ethical. That says it all."

Nathan joined us in March from Warborne Farm near Lymington, on the edge of the New Forest, where he ran an organic growing operation that produced enough to feed around a thousand people a week. He comes with the knowledge and conviction that we can up our production significantly, rationalise, diversify and experiment.

‘The work here is very different to the New Forest’, he says. ‘In Lymington, we had ‘boy’s dirt’ – free draining, sandy loam. What we have in Wrington is ‘man’s dirt’, clogging and cold, but great for different types of crops – brassicas, for example, do really well here.’

Nathan talks enthusiastically about his passion for ecology and food, and the link between them. What drives him is the belief that it is possible to produce good quality food locally, and to get us into the habit of eating seasonally.

‘But look around you’ he says, as we sit in the café in the St Werburghs shop. ‘Our 11 or 12 acres in Wrington can feed about a 1000 people. That’s fantastic, but it’s a drop in the ocean.’ It’s a sobering thought, and highlights just how out of kilter modern food production has become.

‘My job, though, is to focus on delivering the very best fresh food to BFC customers, from a source they can trust. Not only do I want to increase production, I want to try some new varieties and crops as well…’

Nathan comes to us with conviction, energy, skill and enthusiasm. Keep a look out for the fruits of his labour in the shop and in your veg box in the coming months.