It’s a sight most had thought was consigned to the history books.
But, as a result of a rising cost of living crisis and soaring inflation, the humble electric milk float is making a comeback on our streets.
And it is doing so to provide a critical service that has become more important than ever.
Charities including Feeding Britain, which is being supported by The Times in this year’s Christmas Appeal, have repurposed a 1960s milk float into a mobile supermarket.
Sporting shelves full of fresh fruit, veg, spices and canned goods, the electric vehicle, which once just delivered milk, is chugging around Greater London offering discounted food.
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It is, sadly, a provision which is needed by an increasing number of people struggling to afford meals.
The Times joined Helen Fielding, from Be Enriched, the charity which runs the initiative with Feeding Britain, at the milk float on a freezing cold afternoon in Streatham, southwest London.
Fielding, 24, an assistant manager, said: “We have people come to us who’ve had horrifying experiences — it’s heartbreaking. There are families who cannot put food on the table.
“Some are not eligible for the government-funded provisions. They are in that gap between cost of living and eligibility.
“They are not eligible for government support, but they are not earning a living wage. Everything is being stretched further, especially during winter. It’s heat or eat for some people.”
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Fielding was standing at the milk float with Simon Rai, 44, Be Enriched’s retail manager, offering an array of produce on sale for at least 30 per cent below supermarket prices.
Alongside more traditional fruit, veg and tinned goods are produce such as okra, sweet tamarind and ginger.
The Food Bus project, funded with help from Feeding Britain — which works to tackle hunger across the UK — launched in 2021 with a double-decker selling food and household items.
The bus includes a greengrocer on the ground floor, a café and seating area on the top section.
Now the fleet has grown to include the electric milk float.
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The food is bought wholesale from farmers. Kind-hearted companies wishing to donate also order in produce which can be sold on at a lower price.
Fielding explains: “It’s almost a stepping stone for people who have been supported by food banks in the past, but … perhaps need a bit of support to pay their bills.
“We offer them savings through buying with us. It removes that taboo of receiving a food parcel and it recreates the shopping experience.
“When you are supported by a food bank, you receive a food parcel but you don’t get any say in what you want, or whether it caters to your dietary requirements or allergens.
“Here, people can have anything they like to suit their diets.
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“We’re also knocking off the price of a bus trip for those who cannot afford to travel to the supermarket — so they have the extra £2.50 to spend on their shopping.”
The bus and the float trundle around the London suburbs three days a week, with two stops a day. From January they will be going up to four and a half days a week “because the milk float can reach so many extra places”.
The milk float was gifted to Be Enriched by another charity in Brixton, southwest London, and “after a bit of a facelift” is now a crucial part of their operation.
They make up a small part of the mobile working group, a network of vehicles organised nationwide by Feeding Britain to help people buy affordable food.
But it’s not just about what they sell.
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Fielding added: “It’s also quite a social experience as well. We’re always here to have a chat, especially on the bus where we have an upstairs seating area where people can shelter from the elements.
“They can also plug in their devices, bring a friend and have a coffee. It’s really quite an amazing experience.”
Fielding tells the story of a mother with a newborn baby who came onto the bus last year. She confessed she had little support in the UK and was struggling with postnatal depression.
Fielding said: “She came back to me the other day exactly a year from the day she first came to us — and she brought a friend.
“Through coming to our various projects she’s met friends and is now supported. She’s got that network. It’s not just food we’re delivering, it’s friendship. It’s a real community-led effort.”
And the community is certainly appreciating the effort.
One Food Bus user said it had “dramatically increased the amount and variety of fruit and veg I eat daily” and “removed some anxiety about being able to afford good-quality nutritious food”.
As Fielding aptly adds: “It’s unfortunate that we are here — but it’s good that we are.”
Readers’ donations to Feeding Britain will be matched up to £30,000. Prezzo, the Italian restaurant chain, has agreed to match each pound donated by readers of The Times and Sunday Times up to £15,000, with a further £15,000 matched by an anonymous donor.
To donate to The Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal visit thetimes.co.uk/christmasappeal or call 0151 284 2336.
