Patchwork Farm
In addition to our urban market gardens on Hackney Parks land, Growing Communities is creating a Patchwork Farm in Hackney where trained apprentices grow food for the box scheme on small patches of land in back gardens, on church land and on estates. Growing Communities provides the land, tools, equipment, help with planting plans and the ex-apprentices work to produce salad leaves that are sold into our box scheme. The aim is to generate more sustainable produce but also to help people to generate an income from local food production here in Hackney.
If you know of a suitable site - in or around Hackney, 10 metres by 15 metres with soil underfoot, access to water and able to be secured - then please contact us.
Our two newest sites are at Hackney Marshes Tree Nursery and St Michael's Church, Stoke Newington. Ximena Ransom and Emma Brodrick, the two graduates from the Apprentice scheme who run those sites, started harvesting salad leaves for the box scheme in June 2011.
Background
Our first "micro-site" at St Pauls Church in Hackney was set up in October 2008 by Sean Hearn and Annie Stables, (both graduates from our Apprentice Scheme) and started producing salad for the box scheme in June 2009. Annie is still running the site.
Our second micro-site in the grounds of the Castle Climbing Centre on Green Lanes, was launched in January 2010 and is run by Sophie Verhagen and Ida Fabrizio. With the help of several local volunteers they cleared the site of brambles and undergrowth, set up raised beds and produced their first crop of salad leaves in June 2010. In addition to supplying Growing Communities' box scheme with salad, Annie, Ximena, Emma, Sophie and Ida also sell salad and herbs to several local restaurants and cafes across Hackney.
We recently received a major grant from the Big Lottery's Local Food Fund to set up 12 more micro-sites over the next three years. We also received funding from Capital Growth in the early stages of the project to provide tools, supplies and building materials for the micro-sites. 
