Social Farms and Gardens

Who we are

Social Farms & Gardens is the name of the new organisation created following the merger of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens and Care Farming UK in April 2018.

At Social Farms & Gardens, we’re proud to support thousands of grass roots projects across the UK that have helped millions of people. We help them use farming and gardening as a way to transform lives and connect people, putting pride back into communities and improving health and well-being.

Since 1980, we have worked with community farms and gardens, school farms, wildlife and roof gardens, community orchards, community-run allotments and community supported agriculture schemes. We have helped bring community growing into the mainstream, been at the centre of the rise in local food growing and picked up many supporters along the way, including our Patron HRH The Prince of Wales. Since our merger, we now support Care Farms too. Our President is a leading figure in British agriculture, Lord Donald Curry of Kirkhale. 

What we do

Our job is to support the dedicated heroes who run these projects, from tiny fruit and veg plots on urban housing estates to large-scale rural care farms. We provide key advice, training and information. We spread the word about the incredible work they do. We give them a united voice to lobby Government, business and funders.Working together, we want to ensure people of all ages, abilities, faiths and backgrounds can come together in our cities, towns and villages to achieve great things.

How we do it

Our merger has not changed the way we work. We still have a team of expert development workers across the UK who deliver guidance, training and encouragement direct to our members. From our head office in Bristol we work with Government, funders and big corporations, letting those in power know about the great work our members do. We directly support nearly a thousand member groups and farms (as well as giving indirect support to many more). And sometimes, very occasionally, we even get a chance to go outdoors and get our hands dirty too!