PEOPLE with surplus fruit and vegetables are invited to sell their crops at a family-run Somerset garden centre this year (2010) while also helping raise money for charity at the same time.

Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, which is located at Monkton Heathfield between Bridgwater and Taunton, is launching a series of ‘vegetable car boot’ events in aid of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) each month from now (July, 2010) onwards.

Norma Moore, General Manager of the independent, garden centre, explained: “Growing your own food can lead to more produce, perhaps of one type, than you and your family can realistically eat. To help people sell off their unwanted crops we thought we’d host a ‘Veggie Car Boot Sale’ on the last Thursday of every month from July 29 until September 30 from 5pm until 8pm.

“We think we’re the first garden centre in the country to offer this service to our customers. It’s a unique idea and we’re not just helping gardeners who would like to sell off their surplus fruit or vegetables we’re also helping raise money for CHSW.

“Everyone who books a pitch at one of our Veggie Car Boot Sales will be asked to pay £3 per event. This fee will be donated in entirety to CHSW.”

CHSW, which is the garden centre’s Charity of the Year, is currently the only provider of specialist hospice care for children in the region. It offers much needed support for youngsters with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and their families at Little Bridge House near Wraxall in North Somerset.

The Taunton and Bridgwater Friends of CHSW will act as marshals for the Veggie Car Boot Sales.

Norma, who is a keen grow your own gardener and has her own allotment, added: “People with everything from allotments to patios are producing food from their outdoor spaces as they have a desire to reduce the environmental impact of buying food from abroad and to help with the spiralling costs of supermarket shopping.

“They are also realising that home-grown produce tastes better and is healthier for you. However, lots of our customers have surplus fruit and vegetables, and there is only so much jam and chutney you can make or space available in your freezer to store your surplus.

“So by hosting this unusual event once a month during the harvesting seasons we thought we’d be helping people find a solution to their problem and reducing food waste.”

The events will take place during the garden centre’s monthly late night Open Evenings on the last Thursday of every month. The themed evenings include special offers, free demonstrations and a two-course meal in the Four Seasons Restaurant priced £4.99.

To find out more or to book a pitch at the Veggie Car Boot Sales running on the last Thursday of every month from July 29 until September 30, 2010, please visit Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, which is located just off the A38 at Monkton Heathfield between Bridgwater and Taunton.

Alternatively, please call the garden centre on 01823 412381 and ask for Plant Manager, Andrew Pitman. Booking is essential to secure a pitch at the event.