A city farm created on a former East End railway goods depot will be able to help hundreds more adults and children get close to nature – thanks to new funding.
Spitalfields City Farm, in Buxton Street, will run sessions showing children how to grow and cook their own food, build horticultural skills in young people and offer a social group for Bangladeshi women.
It’s made possible thanks to a £136,400 grant from City Bridge Foundation – the custodian of five of London’s most famous bridges and the capital’s biggest independent charity funder.
Paul Martinelli, City Bridge Foundation deputy chairman, said:
“For over 45 years, Spitalfields City Farm has been doing great work enabling people in one of the most urban and most deprived parts of London to experience the benefits of nature.
“We’re really pleased to be able to support their work with people from young children to those in their 70s, and its role at the heart of the community in this part of the East End.”
The funding will support the Farm 2 Fork programme, which offers groups of youngsters the chance to pick produce from the farm and cook it on the outdoor kitchen; and the Coriander Club, aimed at women from Bangladeshi communities.
It will also support the Young Farmers scheme, in which young people learn skills including looking after the farm’s 75 resident animals, which include Derek the donkey, Holmes the pig and Beatrice the one-eared sheep.
Phil Nichols, Spitalfields City Farm chief executive, said:
“A lot of people in this area don’t have a garden or balcony, so coming here gives them a chance to get close to nature and get their hands dirty.
“There’s something about being outside, being able to grow things and socialising with other people which has a really positive effect on people’s mental and physical health.
“The City Bridge Foundation funding will allow us to continue some of our core programmes and give us the flexibility not to have to worry about where funding is coming from.
“We’re really appreciative of the foundation’s support for the city farm movement and for the work we do.”
More information about Spitalfields City Farm is at www.spitalfieldscityfarm.org
In the three years to 2023, City Bridge Foundation awarded £5.9 million to projects which improve the environment or address climate change, including those which tackle poor air quality, boost open spaces or promote biodiversity.
It has also committed £15 million to meet the aims of the foundation’s ambitious Climate Action Strategy, which commits it to achieving net zero in its operations by 2027.
