Sunnyside up...

Above: Food hero Ian Nelson

Hampshire Life - October 2007


Sunnyfields’ Ian Nelson has been described as a man with a mission… but he is actually a man with a vision. And that vision is for a Hampshire-based, Eden-style centre combining entertainment with local, seasonal food. And he has the drive, determination and single-minded focus to achieve this goal.

He is a larger than life figure, a football-loving environmental guru. You would assume he’s a farmer. And he is now. But he didn’t used to be. Mancunian born and bred, his father was in banks, his grandfather, to whom he is likened, managed a factory overseeing hundreds of employees… So how did Ian end up in Southampton, running a very successful organic farm, shop and market, and being involved in major new wholefoods businesses in London?

Ian is the sort of person who probably would have been successful in whatever sphere of life he had chosen to operate. But the area he has ended up in suits his competitive spirit (he swam and ran for his county as a youngster), his fondness for outdoor pursuits (he gardened as a child) and community conscience (he worked under the auspices of the Voluntary Service Organisation in Africa where he met his wife, Louise). It is probably his experience of poverty-stricken Africa which has formed his opinion on food and nutrition.

“The issue there was starvation basically,” Ian recalls how two children died in his arms – handed to him by the local people who regarded all white people as doctors.

They returned from Africa about 20 years ago and settled at Sunnyfields, because a friend was managing the farm, starting an organic vegetable home delivery service that they operated from what Ian describes as a garage in Netley Marsh. This was one of the first organic businesses, started at time when Ian wasn’t certain there was a market.

Major player
Today Sunnyfields is a thriving farm and business with shop, Saturday producers’ and farmers’ market and vegetable box scheme; in addition Sunnyfields supplies restaurants such as River Café, retailers like Royal Farms Windsor Farm Shop and even celebrities such as Sting and Trudi Styler.

Ian is also a major force in local and London-based food initiatives including the organic department store Whole Foods in Kensington High Street. Yet is he satisfied? Not really.

“I’ve always looked to the next step and this is three million miles away from where we want to be. The timing is right for a big, bold collaborative project.”

He envisions Sunnyfields as the enabler for this project – a food and farming complex at Totton that brings together environment, education and entertainment. There would be a mega wind turbine with viewing platform, vast food market “you wouldn’t have seen anything like this," restaurant, coffee shop and bakery. It would put Southampton and Hampshire on the food map big time.
“We’ve already made progress, drawn plans… we don’t have to create road networks as they’re already there, we’re not sending people down country lanes, this farm is about as urban as it could be.

“And we want to make it accessible to all.”
This is very much the Sunnyfields attitude. Although they’re an organic farm, the shop and producers’ and farmers’ market includes non-organic local produce. This is partly because Ian is keen to support and involve all local growers and producers, and partly in response to customers; a growing number “buy into the brand of local, regional food,” explains Ian. “People want honesty, they want to know exactly what they’re buying and where it is from.”

His business philosophy is that you can be a good business by being helpful and nice. “I am an enthusiast; I can work 250 days continually without feeling particularly tired. I'm not a workaholic, I can walk away, but I enjoy my work, I can play on my tractors, it’s a lifestyle really.” He smiles and adds, “In a world where there are so many negatives, there is room to do good. I’m a great believer that all of us can achieve anything.”

Shopping Sunnyfields style:

• l Sunnyfields farm shop is open seven days a week.
• l The producers’ and farmers’ market at Sunnyfields is held every Sat 9.30am-3pm.
• l Find Sunnyfields at a farmers’ market near you.
• l Order online from Sunnyfields website – choose from veggie boxes or 1450 organic products and 521 selected environmental products which can be delivered to your door.

Sunnyfields, Jacobs Gutter Lane, Totton, Southampton SO4 9FX, tel: 02380 861266, email: info@sunnyfields.co.uk or visit: www.sunnyfields.co.uk