Category: charity

So, more people in Sheffield can access good, locally grown food

Imagine a city where every neighbourhood has space to grow food, where children learn where their meals come from, communities come together around shared harvests, and fresh, locally grown produce is available to everyone, regardless of circumstances. That is the vision behind ‘Building a Bigger Table’, Food Works’ new summer campaign – the next step in its mission to create a fairer, healthier and more sustainable food system for Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

The campaign launches in August, centred on Carver Fields in Crosspool, with a plan to transform underused land into a thriving community space where people come together, learn skills and grow food for the local neighbourhood and beyond.

Currently a patch of overgrown fields and broken fences, Carver Fields is land Food Works is calling on people to help transform – through donations, volunteering, business support or sharing practical skills. As Food Works puts it, we can live in a world of abundance if we build a bigger table, not a bigger fence – and everyone has a part to play.

The timing matters. With food prices projected to be 50% higher than five years ago and one in five people in the UK already struggling to access good food, the case for growing more of our own – closer to home, affordably and in a way that is kinder to the planet – has never been stronger.

This is just one piece of the puzzle. For the past decade, Food Works has fed thousands of people by redistributing surplus food through markets, community cafés and healthy ready meals – now providing a million meals’ worth of food to the city every year. And while surplus food remains an important part of the solution, Food Works believes the city’s future food system needs to do more than respond to waste. It is about creating opportunities for communities to grow together: to grow good food close to home, bring nature into every neighbourhood, and share what they can so no one has to go without.

The campaign is a natural next step for Food Works. Working alongside Sheffield City Council, in 2024 the organisation began transforming the disused Norton Nurseries into a flourishing community growing site that now supplies thousands of seedlings each year to schools, community organisations and growing projects across the city. It also creates volunteering opportunities and provides practical training. Carver Fields will provide the space to expand that impact across Sheffield.

The campaign will unfold in three stages:

‘Plant the Seeds’ will establish the first growing beds at Carver Fields, launch regular volunteering sessions and begin producing fresh food, while making the site welcoming and accessible.

‘Grow Together’ will expand the growing space, create a public community food forest and welcome more schools, volunteers and community groups.

‘Build a Bigger Table’ will help more people across Sheffield start or expand their own growing projects, strengthen partnerships with businesses and community organisations, and create the capacity to support the city’s wider food growing movement.

Food Works is inviting people across Sheffield to get involved in whatever way they can. Individuals can donate through the crowdfunder – and thanks to a partnership with Aviva, every donation is matched pound for pound up to £250, so gifts go twice as far. People can also volunteer on the ground or share practical skills. Businesses can sponsor parts of the project, offer in-kind support, organise team volunteering days or become long-term partners in Sheffield’s community food movement.

Every contribution, large or small, will help create more opportunities for people to access fresh food, learn new skills and connect with others.

Food Works CEO Rene Meijer says: “It’s clearer than ever before that we need change. Our planet is on fire, and too many people can’t access healthy food. We can start to fix this as  a community. For the past eleven years, Sheffield has shown what people can do when they come together to share and support each other. We’ve grown from a small campaign to waste less food into an organisation providing a million meals’ worth of food to the city every year. This is the next step: Let’s help every neighbourhood and every school to grow good food. We can start building a better world together now.”

People can find out more, donate, volunteer or explore partnership opportunities at https://communitiesfund.avivafoundation.org.uk/p/community-growing-for-people-planet or at thefoodworks.org

Together, Sheffield can build a bigger table — where everyone has a place, and everyone has something to bring.