Get your fresh veg here (From Gazette Series)

Get your fresh veg here

A COMMUNITY shop continues to go from strength to strength and will now stock an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables thanks to the addition of a new chilled display unit.

Cromhall Village Shop will be extending its fruit and vegetable range following the installation of the new unit, which has been funded by a £1,000 grant from the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op.

The Village Shop Association applied last June for a community dividend grant to fund the unit and expand the range of organic fresh produce on offer.

Association chairman Carole Mardon said the unit is badly needed.

"The shop is located in a portable building, which gets very warm in the summer,' she said. "The fruit and vegetables we stock generally go off quite quickly in the shop and this new unit will keep it fresher longer and help us extend the range."

It is hoped the unit will be in place by next month so it can be fully utilised over the summer.

"It should extend the life of the vegetables, keep them looking fresher for longer and we are hoping to stock more organic products," added Mrs Mardon. "Fruit and vegetables are always popular so hopefully a larger range will encourage more people to shop here."

The shop, which opened in September 1995, is run entirely by volunteers and continues to make a profit each year.

It suffered a number of setbacks last year with an attempted break-in and armed robbery.

But Mrs Mardon said villagers were as determined as ever to see the project continue to succeed.

"We have been going for eight years and have been very successful," she added. "We were concerned that people may be put off volunteering by the robbery but everyone is still gung-ho and wants to see the shop do well."

The shop opens five and a half days a week and has a policy to source and sell as much local produce as possible.