News / The Pony Chew Valley
Food education on wheels
The country could soon learn how our food is grown on a bus with live chickens and hydroponics.
The Pony Farm Bus is an initiative of siblings Josh and Holly Eggleton of The Pony in Chew Valley to drive a nationwide understanding of how food reaches our tables.
To fundraise and bring this initiative to life, the Eggletons have brought on board celebrated chefs – Angela Hartnett, Tom Kerridge, Sally Abé and Jude Kereama – to curate a memorable experience for diners at The Pony.
From December to March, these chefs will be at The Pony to cook special meals as part of ‘The Pony Farm Bus Fundraiser’ with 80% of each ticket sale going towards the building the farm bus.
The Farm Bus will tour the UK giving food education a fun approach
Together the siblings have started many initiatives that are directed towards making Bristol’s food culture more secure and people more educated.
Josh Eggleton who was awarded an MBE for his work during Covid-19 said: “We understand that not everyone has access to one of our six sites, so it has been an idea of ours for ages to take our message and ethos on the road.
“We would love to see the bus busy and active, going out to the Southwest and beyond; but as important as the issue of food education is, we also want to keep this fun.”
At a time the bus will seat 25 – 30 people educating them about produce, growing and cooking.
The bus will be lead by The Pony Group team with volunteers supporting them
Interactive sessions will involve collecting eggs from chickens before cooking them and using the hydroponics herbs growing on board for tasting and cooking.
Holly added: “Immersing ourselves into the community is behind everything we do, and it’s been a real community effort getting the wheels of the Farm Bus in motion.
“As much as we’re looking forward to seeing it out and about in our local area, it will also be exciting for our teams to travel around the country, helping all sorts of groups.”
The bus will be free of charge for schools and charities, but others can book it anytime from January 25, 2025.
All photos: The Pony Group
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