The Pony Group to launch interactive farm bus

The Pony Group is building and launching an interactive Farm Bus, complete with live chickens and hydroponics, to drive nationwide awareness and understanding of how our food is grown.

Josh Eggleton MBE, co-owner of the group, has brought on board leading chefs from around the UK, including Angela Hartnett OBE, Tom Kerridge, Sally Abé and Jude Kereama to host a series of fundraising dinners with him at The Pony in Chew Valley, Somerset. The proceeds will go towards their fundraising target of £100,000 to launch the bus in spring 2025. 

The Pony Bus Fundraiser

To help tackle the issue of food education, Josh, along with his sister and co-owner Holly, will collaborate with friends to prepare and serve a six-course feast at The Pony Group's flagship restaurant.

The dinners will take place once a month, starting in December, with each guest chef taking three of the six courses and using produce from The Pony's garden. The series will launch with Kerridge on 10 December, followed by Abé on 21 January, Hartnett on 4 February and Kereama on 18 March. Tickets cost £130, including six courses and a welcome drink, with 80% of each sale going towards the Farm Bus fund. 

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

The proceeds will fund the conversion of a vintage double-decker bus into a 'mobile farm', designed to travel across the country and inspire communities to engage with the true provenance of the food they eat. The group has also established a Crowdfunder page for anyone who wishes to donate. 

Once the bus is complete it will begin its tour of the UK, visiting each of the chefs' locales to host a talk or demonstration for the community. It will also tour schools, festivals and events, with The Pony team on board offering access to valuable information on food origins, cooking, nutrition and sustainability practices.

"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," says Josh. "We would love to see the bus busy and active, going out to the southwest and beyond. But, as important as food education is, we also want to keep this fun."

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