5 Christmas pop-ups: where to find ethical and sustainable independent brands IRL
Everyone dreams of a stress-free Christmas. So, forget any last minute panics of struggling to find a turkey big enough for your party, or worst yet, shops running out of brussels sprouts. Instead, let someone else do the shopping for you: enter Christmas food box deliveries, which arrive directly from the farms to your door.
This article showcases 10 different places to order Christmas food online. They’re listed below with pretty much all the information you need to source everything you could possibly want for your festive feasts.
But, first, have you seen Riverford’s campaign to stop Farmwashing? This is the practice of supermarkets portraying idyllic British farms in their marketing so that customers think this is who theyâre buying from. A common argument is that supermarkets are simply giving customers what they want â but farmwashing means customers arenât being given the full facts or opportunity to make informed choices about the food we’re eating. It also undermines real British family farmers who are struggling to survive.
If Christmas isn’t a time to show support for farmers, then we don’t know when is. And what better way to show that support than by buying direct from farmers wherever possible?
It’s a win-win. Producers who lovingly grow veg and rear animals for these excellent boxes are masters of their crafts, which have been months in the making (and years in the perfecting, so you can taste the difference).
Of course, not all of us are lucky enough to live near farms or have easy access to good butchers or farmersâ markets. Fortunately, farm-fresh produce is now being brought directly to our doors. To make things even easier for you, the food boxes arrive chilled or frozen and thanks to clever packaging, they will stay that way all day. So, you donât even need to be home to receive your food box delivery.
How we curate our farms and test
Live Frankly is a place for exclusively ethical and sustainable farms. All the farms we feature go above-and-beyond in the work they do because they recognise the climate crisis, the injustices in their industries, and they know thereâs a better way. Theyâre proving farming can be done differently.
Every farm fills out a form answering questions about the animal welfare, the people in their supply chains and their governance structures. We speak with them before adding them to the Live Frankly Directory, and we test the quality of their products.
We do the hard work in the background, so you can focus on buying top quality food for you and your loved-ones from smaller, independent farms who are true custodians of the land for future generations.
The Christmas food to order online for your festive feasts 2024
Here, we recommend some of our favourite organic, free-range and Pasture for Life farms and farming networks that deliver directly to your door. They’re listed in no particular order, it just depends on what youâre looking for. All are brilliant in their unique ways!
Riverford Organic
Why support Riverford?
- The Riverford team in Devon have been paving the way in organic farming since 1986
- It only grows and supplies 100% certified organic produce
- It operates with very little food waste
- It puts animal welfare at the forefront of everything it does
- It supports small growers and producers
- It has reduced its plastic packaging by 21 tonnes a year
- It doesnât use air freight
- It is one of the top 100 companies to work at in the UK
What to order from Riverford for your Christmas feast?
Youâll be able to pre-order everything, from traditional Bronze turkeys and slow-grown winter veg, to unusual organic alcoholic drinks, farmhouse cheeses, and mince pies. They also offer festive cooking kits â helping you make your own fruity Christmas pudding, cake, and chutneys from scratch.
SHOP AT RIVERFORD NOW
Wylde Market
Why support Wylde Market?
- Wylde is an online farmersâ market where you can shop directly from producers (without having to get out of bed!)
- They offer fresh and locally-sourced products
- They champion their producers by trusting them to set their own prices
- However many producers you order from, all produce is packaged into one convenient box and sent directly to you…
- …In recyclable packaging, naturally
What to order from Wylde Market for your Christmas feast?
All the treats! You can buy your show-stopping Christmas centrepieces including turkey, duck, salt beef as well as excellent trimmings; sustainably caught fish and shellfish including wild dressed crab; and the most delicious and smelliest of cheese and charcuterie for your cheeseboard. They will deliver it all to you on Sunday 22 December, but our tip is to order way before then â like every good farmers market, itâs best to get there early. When itâs gone, itâs gone!
SHOP WYLDE MARKET NOW
field&flower
Why support field&flower?
- Set up in 2010, field&flowerâs original mission was to supply consumers with grass-fed, top-quality beef, directly to their homes, instead of their produce being lost in the food chain.
- The company now works with some of the best independent West Country farms and fishers who share their high animal welfare and sustainability values to offer a whole lot more choice.
- As part of their ‘Turkey Leg Up’ campaign, they’ll donate one pair of turkey legs for every Turkey Crown they sell this Christmas to support their charity partner FareShare South West. One pair of legs is enough to serve 2-3 vulnerable people who might not have access to a Christmas dinner.
What to order from field&flower for your Christmas feast?
Free-range, grass-fed and consciously reared turkey, pork, beef and lamb, venison and game. You’re spoilt for choice, when it comes to meat.
As well as supporting British farmers, you can also support fishmongers, cheesemakers, charcutiers, and traditional pie makers with your festive feasting.
SHOP AT FIELD&FLOWER NOW
The Ethical Dairy
Why support The Ethical Dairy?
- Produces award-winning cheeses, from British classics to unique creations.
- Pioneers of the cow-with-calf method, allowing cows to raise their calves naturally.
- Certified net-zero farm, capturing more carbon than it emits.
- Sustainable practices have boosted biodiversity on their farm five-fold.
- Offers cheese subscriptions, farm tours, and hands-on cheese-making courses.
- Committed to combining sustainability, animal welfare, and exceptional quality.
What to order from The Ethical Dairy for your Christmas feast?
For a festive feast, The Ethical Dairy has your cheese board covered. Opt for their indulgent Ethical Cheeseboard, which features 2kg of their finest farmhouse cheeses including Barlocco or Fleet Valley Blue, Skinny Red, Laganory and Carrick. For a smaller option, their Cheesy Night In option is ideal, offering 500g of cheese paired with pickles and oatcakes, with a choice to include or skip the blue cheese.
SHOP AT THE ETHICAL DAIRY NOW
Piper’s Farm
Why support Piper’s Farm?
- Pipers Farm is based in Devon, where the 50-acre family farm works in tune with nature and 40 other family farms in the surrounding areas
- A frontrunner in sustainably produced meat for more than 30 years
- Everyone at Piperâs Farm is very vocal about what ‘genuinely’ good farming looks like, and it puts its money where its mouth is
- Pipers Farm uses its growing platform to offer other small farms access to the market and customers access to wholesome food that has been grown with a respect for nature
What to order from Piper’s Farm for your Christmas feast?
Pipers Farm has won a whole host of accolades for its great-tasting meat.
They also offer delicious Christmas trimmings, seafood, cheese, Christmas tipples, sweet treats and gifts and hampers.
SHOP AT PIPERS FARM NOW
Fosse Meadows
Why support Fosse Meadows?
- Those firmly in the turkey for Christmas camp should look to Fosse Meadows
- The organic farm in Leicestershire, which is now in its fourth generation, specialises in traditional free-range poultry thatâs very slow grown
- Owners Nick and Jacob share a passion for genuinely brilliant food, both in flavour and quality
- Their goal is to produce a bird of excellent flavour and succulence, and raised with compassion and artisanal farming standards
What to order from Fosse Meadows for your Christmas feast?
Naturally, turkey. But also do consider their cockerel, lamb or hogget and beef. Their pies and sausage rolls are not to be overlooked.
SHOP FOSSE MEADOWS NOW
Helen Browning’s Organic
Why support Helen Browning’s Organic?
- Helen Browning is one of the UKâs few female farmers
- Helen has always pushed hard in pursuit of a better way of farming, and in doing so has helped to shape organic farming across the UK
- Helen is Chief Executive of the Soil Association, a trustee of the RSPB and a Commissioner for the Food Farming and Countryside Commission. She sits on the BBCâs Rural Affairs Advisory Committee and was a member of the National Food Strategy Advisory Panel
- Helen remains first and foremost a farmer, and was awarded an OBE in 1998 for services to organic farming
What to order from Helen Browning’s Organic for your Christmas feast?
Best known for their free-range and organic pork, in 2020 Helen Browning introduced a range of ethically produced high-welfare, lower carbon âgood beefâ.
This means you can order ready-to-cook Christmas gammon and beef from one place. Plus, you can add in the sausages and bacon for DIY pigs in blankets, too â which we couldnât get enough of and children will no doubt love getting involved with.
For their turkey, Helen Browning partners with The Walters family-run farm, who have specialised in traditional organic Christmas turkeys for 50 years.
SHOP HELEN BROWNING’S NOW
Abel & Cole
Why support Abel & Cole?
- Abel & Cole has been delivering organic food from farm-to-doors since the 1980s
- Its sustainability starts on the farm
- Its sustainability extends to the relationships it has with farmers and suppliers and its brilliant approach to doing business generally, it is transparent about gender pay, for example
- They offer a range of refillable options
- They collect back any rubbish, including plastics
What to order from Abel & Cole for your Christmas feast?
What’s not to order? Abel & Cole have Christmas covered with everything from seasonal wreath kits to Christmas gift hampers.
For your festive parties, they have vegan and veggie selections, Christmas drinks and cheese and antipasti.
For your Christmas dinner, they have turkey and other meat joints, fruit and veg boxes, Christmas trimmings, starters and dessert options.
SHOP ABEL & COLE NOW
Christmas guides:
Supermarket vs organic turkey
Christmas Cracker ideas
Best Christmas Turkeys
About the author
