Bath’s very first milk vending machine will be opened on Tuesday 1st September at Green Park Station, thanks to Somerset dairy farmer Andy Salmon.
Andy’s family have farmed at Bullsbridge Farm near Frome for 80 years and he will be providing super-fresh milk straight from his farm to the residents of Bath.
Three years ago, he set up Tytherington Milk Station and began selling his Pasture Promise free range milk to local people through a vending machine located at the farm gate.
The milk comes from a herd of 240 cows grazing pastures 13 miles from Bath.
It is pasteurised on the farm and is unhomogenised. The fresh milk will be delivered to the refrigerated vending machine at Green Park every day.
Visitors to the vending machine at Green Park Station will be able to purchase a 1-litre glass bottle, with a screw top, which they can fill from the machine, take home, wash and reuse.
There is no plastic involved and the glass bottles can be reused again and again.
Andy Salmon said: “We are proud of our farm, our cows and the milk we produce. That’s why I wanted to find a way for local people to enjoy our milk and learn a bit more about who we are and how we farm.
“It was clear from the moment we installed the first vending machine on the farm that people were keen to find out what really fresh milk from the farm tastes like.
“The feedback we have received has been fantastic and the fact that they keep coming back for more has given us the confidence to grow our business and offer our milk to the people of Bath.”
The farm is part of the Free Range Dairy Network, an organisation that works to support traditional family farms committed to giving their cows the freedom to graze in fields.
Their ‘Pasture Promise’ logo is the only label on milk to give milk lovers an assurance that the cows are grazed for a minimum of 180 days a year, 18 hours a day.
Neil Darwent, Director of the Free Range Dairy Network, added: “Giving an identity to the milk produced by Britain’s traditional, pasture-based farms means people are rediscovering ‘proper milk’ that tastes like milk used to taste.
“We are delighted to be working with the Salmon family on their new venture and the people of Bath are in for a real treat! The Pasture Promise logo gives milk lovers the chance to vote for freedom and fairness whenever they buy milk.”
The vending machine will open at 11am on Tuesday 1st September.
Tytherington Milk Station will be holding a competition to celebrate the opening, by giving one free empty bottle to each of the first 50 visitors to turn up.
