Social Farms & Gardens Information

Social Farms & Gardens is the result of a merger between two existing charities: • The Federation of City Farms – a UK-wide charity, established in 1980, with a strong track record in partnership and project working. It provided support services and advocacy for community managed farms and gardens which have become increasingly popular in the last few decades - today there are more than 2,500 of these local groups and an extensive community growing sector. • Care Farming UK: was set up to promote and support Care Farming – the use of farming activities for therapeutic purposes. Care farms provide health, social or educational care services for individuals from one or a range of vulnerable groups. It provided a central voice and supportive services for care farmers, to inspire decision makers. Care farms, city farms, community gardens and other outdoor spaces can offer individuals with a defined need and their communities the opportunity to connect with the land, leading to enormous social, therapeutic and educational benefits. We will also be concentrating on advocacy at policy-maker level, providing a voice for the thousands of gardeners, growers and farmers whose passion, vision and innovation improves the lives of millions of people. Our membership currently stands at more than 700 local groups and we employ more than 30 staff across the UK. The majority are part-time. In addition to our HQ in Bristol, we have offices in Cardiff, Newtown and Bangor (covering Wales), Edinburgh (Scotland), London (London & South East England), Belfast (Northern Ireland) and other staff in Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Peterborough. Our development team is supported by a pool of 50 volunteers and freelance fieldworkers, who provide local support to members as required, normally for a few days each per year.