From milk to sausage rolls: how vending machines could help tackle UK ‘food deserts’

Emma Poulter and her daughter Bonnie, three, stock up on milk. ‘The machine is fun for little ones,’ says Poulter. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

Fizzy drinks, packets of crisps and bars of chocolate: for decades, vending machines were known as a place to grab a quick snack.

Now one family of farmers is trying to change that by bringing vending machines offering fresh milk and local produce – including scotch eggs, sausage rolls and brownies – to villages and other rural locations.