UK friends who started a veg box scheme have crowdfunded £100K to buy their own farm
- 2 years ago
A group of friends who started a veg box scheme during lockdown have crowdfunded £100K to buy their own FARM - to help provide for hundreds of families.
The 'Middle Ground Growers' group of pals provided around 65 organic veg boxes a week to local people during lockdown - all delivered by bike.
But they have now raised enough money to buy sixteen acres to turn their venture into a farm - and feed more than 600 families with their five a day.
Hamish Evans, 24, Xavier Hamon, 39, Livi Rhodes, 31 and Sammy Elmore, 29, began growling veg on a small rented plot when the shop shelves were bare in 2020.
They later raised 100K themselves and now thanks to a crowdfund of £95,000 they have a working farm - with a market garden and orchards to grow fruit and veg.
The group also aims to build a wildlife haven, wetlands and wildflower meadow at their new site in Upper Weston, Bath.
The friends now hope to teach others how to grow sustainably and set-up mini sites in Bath for growing more local produce.
Hamish said the group come from a background of farming and support for environmental movements.
He said it all began when the group wanted to "help people in crisis".
Hamish said: "We've all worked in a background of farming, ecological farming, before.
"During lockdown there were all these food security issues, local food made a big resurgence with supermarket sales being down.
"When the shops started to look a bit bare with shortages, local food went through a bit of a boom with people realizing they could use the farms down the road.
"We wanted to find a meaningful livelihood as well, getting to work on the land and outside.
“There is no reason why we cannot grow the majority of our calories and nutrients locally.
Filmed Feb 2022.
The 'Middle Ground Growers' group of pals provided around 65 organic veg boxes a week to local people during lockdown - all delivered by bike.
But they have now raised enough money to buy sixteen acres to turn their venture into a farm - and feed more than 600 families with their five a day.
Hamish Evans, 24, Xavier Hamon, 39, Livi Rhodes, 31 and Sammy Elmore, 29, began growling veg on a small rented plot when the shop shelves were bare in 2020.
They later raised 100K themselves and now thanks to a crowdfund of £95,000 they have a working farm - with a market garden and orchards to grow fruit and veg.
The group also aims to build a wildlife haven, wetlands and wildflower meadow at their new site in Upper Weston, Bath.
The friends now hope to teach others how to grow sustainably and set-up mini sites in Bath for growing more local produce.
Hamish said the group come from a background of farming and support for environmental movements.
He said it all began when the group wanted to "help people in crisis".
Hamish said: "We've all worked in a background of farming, ecological farming, before.
"During lockdown there were all these food security issues, local food made a big resurgence with supermarket sales being down.
"When the shops started to look a bit bare with shortages, local food went through a bit of a boom with people realizing they could use the farms down the road.
"We wanted to find a meaningful livelihood as well, getting to work on the land and outside.
“There is no reason why we cannot grow the majority of our calories and nutrients locally.
Filmed Feb 2022.