In Chaffinch Road people can regularly be seen with bags full to the brim with fruit and vegetables.

The street, in Lower Grange, Bradford, is home to Pankhurst Pantry, a thriving food co-op – one of a number set up in Bradford to encourage people to eat healthily.

At the helm is co-ordinator Andrea Steele, who is delighted by its success.

“There was a great need for something like this. The food available in supermarkets is not always good quality and not always affordable. People used to moan about the cost, so now they come here.”

Volunteers buy food wholesale from St James’s Market and sell it on at a not-for-profit price. A small mark-up covers running costs.

As well as staples such as potatoes, the shop stocks more unusual foods such as sweet potatoes and butternut squash.

Adds Andrea: “Customers can buy very small amounts, such as three small onions or one carrot, which they may not be able to do at mainstream stores. We also accept food vouchers.”

Across the country, more and more communities are setting up food co-ops, which cut out the middlemen between producers and consumers, enabling them to get good food at an affordable price and have more control over where it comes from.

Staff at Pankhurst Pantry also make up recipe cards showing people how to make dishes such as leek and potato soup, and pepper soup.

“People see items on sale and would like to try them but don’t know how to make them into a meal,” says Andrea. “Now people are roasting sweet potatoes and using butternut squash in curries and generally experimenting.”

As well as fruit and vegetables, they buy other household items such as coffee, tea and washing powder. “We buy large bags and break it down into smaller ones to put on sale.”

Staff also deliver to customers who have problems getting to the co-op. And they have bigger plans for the future.

Says Andrea: “Our next step is to involve the community in making use of gardens to grow fruit and vegetables and sell some of it to us or swap it for other goods.

“One lady grows tomatoes and garlic and another comes in and donates chutney. I’m a gardener myself and grow beans, peppers, courgettes and other vegetables. If enough people help out, in time we could become self-sufficient.”

Across the city at Thorpe Edge, Roots And Fruits, a co-op based at Rockwell Community Centre in Summerfield Road, also sells a wide range of produce, some of it grown on the site.

Co-ordinator Peter Tatham says: “We sell a range of fresh fruit and vegetables and locally-produced eggs – as much as possible we stock local produce.

“People like it because, as far as possible, they like to know where their food has come from. We also do deliveries in the community.”

He adds: “The mother and toddler group, which uses the building, buy from us. It is great to see people buying fruit and vegetables for their children – that’s what we want to encourage.”

Sandra Burgan, who runs the centre’s cafe selling healthy meals and snacks made from the same produce, adds: “People love the co-op as they don’t have to trail to the supermarket, and they can buy as much or as little as they want.”

Across the district, Flint (Food Links Network) co-operatives run in various locations including Girlington, Bradford Moor and Windhill. These are co-ordinated by Bradford Community Environment Project (BCEP), whose service includes helping to establish the service and collecting the food from the wholesale market.

Kevin Higgins, of BCEP, delivers to a number of locations. “The co-ops are really popular. They are important as they help people get easy access to affordable, healthy food. It benefits children and the elderly in particular,” he says.

BCEP helps community groups to set up co-ops, providing advice and equipment such as cash tills, scales and baskets.

Based at Footprints Family Centre, Buttershaw co-op has been running for more than a decade. Working in partnership with BCEP, it now sells more than 60 different lines of fruit and vegetables to more than 100 customers every week.

“We have a day nursery here and are noticing a considerable difference in children’s diet as they get older and move to primary school,” says manager Aubrey Sitch. “We hope we are helping to change eating habits within the community.”

<li> For the Flint food co-op handbook visit bcep.org.uk.