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Margate Mushrooms

Funded on Spacehive 18 January 2022 Delivered 15 August 2022

Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.

Margate Mushrooms

MiFoodbank By MiFoodbank

We will empower house-bound clients to establish home-based micro-businesses through sustainably produced gourmet mushroom products in the safety of their own home kitchens.

Westwood Delivery stage

231
backers
£42,473
raised
funded icon
This project was funded on 18 Jan 2022!

Mushrooms are a high-value, nutritious, sought-after crop, which can be eaten fresh or preserved. We will establish a mushroom farm in shipping containers, that can produce crops in 5 weeks, all year round. Harvests will be given to home-based micro-businesses for processing, for sale in farm & veg shops in Kent - which in turn improves local food security and reduces carbon footprint. Some ways to process mushrooms are: Freezing, Drying, Pickling & Fermenting, Pate & Burgers, Jerky, Crisps, Coffee, Tinctures. This project will create a network of home-based micro-businesses allowing people to earn, develop skills, pride and the satisfaction of seeing the results of your own handiwork for sale in your own area.

What we'll deliver:

  • Set up a mushroom farm in shipping containers, creating 1.5 jobs
  • Provide mushrooms to housebound clients for processing at home
  • Sell the products in and around Kent
  • Provide training and help to get home kitchens accepted as commercial kitchens
  • Ensure home processors have appropriate food hygiene training
  • Provide appropriate training in mushroom cultivation and processing
  • Provide business-building skills

Why it's a great idea:

-Provide top quality, gourmet mushroom products for everyone, especially vegans and vegetarians. -Create one full time and one part time job on the mushroom farm. -Create opportunities for housebound people to build micro-businesses working from home. -Build self-esteem and confidence in the safety of their own home. -Decrease reliance on benefits and food aid. -Increase local food security. -Many of the mushrooms sold in the UK come from as far away as Korea. Margate Mushrooms will reduce food production carbon footprint by reducing the miles food travels before reaching your plate.

Steps to get it done:

  • Purchase and siting of shipping containers
  • Online training for Farm Manager and assistant
  • Fit out and equip containers
  • In person training of Farm manager and Assistant
  • First crop started (a new crop to be started weekly)
  • Online and in person training of home processors
  • Food Hygiene certificates obtained by pilot group of processors
  • Home kitchens certified as commercial kitchens
  • First harvest (after around five weeks, weekly harvests after that)
  • Crop issued to processors
  • Tasting and quality control of first products
  • First round of processed oyster mushrooms in shops

The project will impact the whole community - not only creating micro-businesses but also providing wonderful mushroom based products for everyone to eat! This project will help create food security in increasingly uncertain times. In the long term Margate (and wider Thanet) will become known for superb mushroom products - imagine the tourism headlines, "Margate - the Mushroom Mecca!"

Location Westwood

About the space

Margate and surrounding Thanet

Council

Thanet District Council

How will the money be spent?Total £41,840

Shipping containers - 2 x decommissioned refrigerated containers - £9,120 (22%)
Materials to fit out container (shelving, lighting, humidifier, fridge, air con etc) - £5,165 (12%)
Project Manager - £4,992 (12%)
Full-time Farm Manager - £4,992 (12%)
Land - £4,000 (10%)
Solar Power - £2,658 (6%)
Part time Farm Manager - £2,496 (6%)
Flat Pack shed for dirty work - £1,680 (4%)
Labour to set up and fit out - £1,000 (2%)
Levels 1, 2 & 3 food hygiene training for an initial 5 pilot home processors - £960 (2%)
Other - £4,777 (11%)

Costs Breakdown

This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.

22%
Shipping containers - 2 x decommissioned refrigerated containers
£9,120
12%
Materials to fit out container (shelving, lighting, humidifier, fridge, air con etc)
£5,165
12%
Project Manager
£4,992
12%
Full-time Farm Manager
£4,992
10%
Land
£4,000
6%
Solar Power
£2,658
6%
Part time Farm Manager
£2,496
4%
Flat Pack shed for dirty work
£1,680
2%
Labour to set up and fit out
£1,000
2%
Levels 1, 2 & 3 food hygiene training for an initial 5 pilot home processors
£960
11%
Other Read More
£4,777
  • Spacehive fees
    £1,669
  • Online training for processors to understand their product
    £720
  • Straw (substrate for growing) - a years worth
    £500
  • 40 x 20l Catering sized buckets
    £480
  • 50% of full training course for manager and assistant
    £397
  • Online training course for farm manager and assistant at 50% of cost from Grocycle
    £397
  • VAT
    £334
  • Transaction Fees
    £281

Overfunding

This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:

  • Future wages for farm manager and assistant
  • Marketing and business development

Total £41,840

Our Volunteer List

We're currently looking for people to offer skills and time to develop our project! Check out the list of what we need below and then use the 'Volunteer' button to the right to get involved.
  • Handy person to help fit out interiors of the containers once delivered in early march. One partition wall needs to be built and then various bits of kit installed.
  • 20 litre food-grade buckets with lids - eg catering size mayo/ketchup buckets - MANY!

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