Josh Eggleton to drive food literacy with ‘interactive farm bus’

Eggleton's The Pony Group has brought on board leading chefs from around the UK, including Angela Hartnett, Tom Kerridge, Sally Abé and Jude Kereama, to host a series of fundraising dinners with him at his The Pony in Chew Valley flagship to raise the £100,000 needed to launch the bus in spring next year.

The group - which operates a strong of venues in and around Bristol including Root, Kensington Arms  and fish and chips chain Salt & Malt​ ​- has also set up a Crowdfunder page​​ for anyone who wishes to donate to the cause.

The vintage double decker bus will travel across the nation and ‘inspire a cross-section of communities to engage with the true provenance and journey of the food that they eat’.

The Farm Bus will also tour schools, festivals and events around the UK, with The Pony team on board offering access to information on food origins, cooking, nutrition and sustainability practices.

The initiative aims to enhance people’s understanding of where their food comes from, promoting food literacy and healthier choices.

It hopes to empower and inspire through learning opportunities such as cooking classes, workshops, demonstrations and informational resources.

Eggleton's intention is to visit 25 schools a year, reaching 2,500 school children over the course of 2025. In addition, once a month, they hope to bring the bus to community groups and festivals to reach a diverse audience, working with charities and organisations such as the NHS. 

The bus will feature a live growing system (hydroponics), chickens, planters, a demonstration platform, kitchen, dining and picnic areas and a library of resources; it will have everything needed to share farming practices and more in an inspiring, compact and mobile space.

The Farm Bus was inspired by siblings Josh and Holly Eggleton’s existing community efforts across Bristol and Somerset, developed over 18 years since launching The Pony & Trap and building The Pony Group.

During this time, they became increasingly aware of food insecurities and lack of educational opportunities in their local area, with rural and urban communities both facing their own challenges.

In 2021, Josh was awarded an MBE for services to the community in Bristol during Covid-19, having founded Cheers Drive - the precursor to Team Canteen - in partnership with Caring in Bristol, to feed the city’s homeless three meals a day.

Starting December 2024, the dinners will take place once a month with each chef taking three of the six courses on a collaborative menu with Eggleton, using produce from The Pony’s garden.

The series will launch with Tom Kerridge on 10 December, followed by Sally Abe on 21 January 2025, Angela Hartnett on 4 February 2025 and Jude Kereama on 18 March 2025.

Tickets cost £130 including six courses and a welcome drink, with 80% of each ticket sale going towards the Farm Bus fund. Tickets for the dinners will be released in phases between now and January; the first dinner with Tom Kerridge is available to book now.

All chefs are donating their time to the events, which will also be supported by volunteers from across The Pony Group.

“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,” Eggleton says. “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.”

Holly Eggleton, co-owner of The Pony Group, 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.”