The idea
Bentley Urban Farm has struggled recently, a break-in had already set us back and now Covid-19 threatens to close us down for good. But too many people benefit from what we do, so we're going to fight to stay open. While we can't run our usual workshops we are going to run our BUF Box scheme to help vulnerable isolated people get fresh, healthy food. People can order veg from us and profits and surplus produce will be donated to projects such as Manna's fresh soup delivery scheme (see our website for full details). We will also be keeping our produce alive and developing new beds to teach even more people how to grow their own food and become more resilient once social distancing is over. We will document what we do on site and create a lot of online information to help people to get growing at home. We will also create exciting new workshops which will be ready for individuals and community groups once people can move freely again.
What we'll deliver
- Relaunch and maintain our BUF Box scheme to benefit vulnerable isolated people.
- Maintain our growing beds and develop new beds for a host of new workshops.
- Create more online media to help people become more resilient and self-sufficient in these troubled times.e
Why it's a great idea
We will help to provide fresh, healthy, nutritional food to vulnerable people in isolation. We will share tips on how to start growing your own food.. We will research, study and develop new growing techniques which are not only good for the environment, but which can actively repair damaged ecosystems. Once we can move freely again, we will get people cooking and eating together to help combat social isolation. In this time of coronavirus and climate change we work for better local food security, developing techniques and opportunities for more food to be grown locally. Bentley Urban farm is Doncaster's (and perhaps the world's) first 'upcycled market garden', but we hope that it seeds other similar projects throughout the borough. We want Doncaster to become the community growing capital of the UK.
Steps to get it done
- Replace essential tools
- Extend the BUF Box scheme to make it more sustainable
- Use the BUF Box scheme to provide donations of fresh produce to community projects helping vulnerable people
- Build new beds and develop new workshops
- Create online media to teach people how to grow during social distancing
PermaFuture Agroecology, the cooperative behind Bentley Urban Farm, have already won awards for our work, including recognition from the Abundant Earth Foundation and Permaculture Magazine. We're proud of what we have achieved so far on very limited resources, but we are always striving to do better. We want to replace vital resources which we lost in the recent break-in so that we can re-launch and build-up our veg box scheme and start our Kindness Kitchen so that the project can become financially self-sustaining and grow beyond Bentley.
